


Dancing in the Rain

by MoonDancer478



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M, Romance, bamf!Juvia, crack ship, gray is a jerk, love me some crack- ships that is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2020-03-09 00:02:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 44,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18905362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonDancer478/pseuds/MoonDancer478
Summary: "I hate you!" A drunk Gray rejects Juvia, breaking her heart. After some consideration, she decides to use it as a chance to change for the better and show everyone that she will not be broken by it, gaining some unlikely friends along the way. Follow her journey of growth into a confident woman and watch as she gains a lover worthy of her love. *crack ship warning*





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> (A/N: Real quick, before this begins, I want to say some things. Juvia is, without a doubt, my favorite character in the whole anime (and that's a big thing because there are a lot of characters to choose from). However, the anime and the fandom seem to think that she is a weak person whose entire existence revolves around Gray (and it annoys me). So, I wanted to write a story where Juvia is awesome. Also, there is a crack ship that I love that will be in this because why not. Anyways, so while some of the earlier chapters will have a emotional and weak Juvia, she will have some awesome moments to shine in later chapters and I cannot wait to publish them! So without further ado, have fun reading!)

The last lights of day were fading in the twilight as the whole city was abuzz. It was Christmas Eve! Everyone was celebrating, whether it was just a small cake baked for the day or a huge party. As expected, Fairy Tail was holding one of the biggest Christmas Eve parties throughout the land. Rumor had it that they were going to throw a party the next day, but some doubted it. After all, it took most people who went to Fairy Tail parties a few days to recover from it.  
   
It had started out like any other guild party. Natsu was running through the guild, screaming at people to fight him. Although Laxus and Erza had both tried to calm the fire breather, he seemed to be even more uncontrollable that night than normal. Cana was sitting at the bar, drinking any alcohol that she could find and emptying Fairy Tail's alcohol stash. No doubt, Fairy Tail would have to restock on everything the next day.  
   
In the midst of all the cheers, a certain, perhaps _slightly_ tipsy water mage looked at her beloved with pure love from her seat next to the resident card mage. Juvia took deep breaths, trying to control her wildly beating heart. Reaching for the nearest drink, she downed the liquid courage and stood up, clumsily swaying towards the raven-haired ice mage. When he noticed her, the _very_ drunk man began taking a step away from Juvia for every step she took towards him.  
   
With a soft thud, Gray’s back hit the wall and he realized that he had backed himself into a corner. Gajeel noticed Gray’s predicament and snickered at him. Silently, Gajeel pointed to something above Gray’s head and mouthed "have fun" before walking out of the large room. With dread, Gray raised his head and saw the cursed red and green plant hanging from the ceiling. _Maybe this is what she wanted all along,_ Gray thought. After some wobbling, Juvia finally reached Gray. “Gray-sama!” she squealed. When she looked up at the mistletoe, a wide grin broke across her face.  
   
“Mistletoe! Now Gray-sama *hic* has to kiss Juvia!” she sparkled, clapping her hands together with an excited expression as she inched closer to him.  
   
“Juvia,” Gray replied, “I’m not kissing you.”  
   
“But Gray-sama, it’s the rules! If Gray-sama is under the mistletoe with Juvia, he has to kiss Juvia!”  
   
A tick mark appeared on his face, but he tried to keep a cool head. “I _know_ that, Juvia,” he began, “But the rules don't apply if it’s a planned kiss!”  
   
“Gray-sama, Juvia didn’t plan this. Fate must believe that we are destined for each other!” she yelled, her eyes glittering with tiny hearts as she imagined what Gray would say to her.  
   
~Enter Juvia’s dreamland~  
   
 _“Juvia, I love you. Won’t you kiss me under this mistletoe forever?” Gray asked, opening his arms out to her._  
   
~Exit~  
   
“Of course Juvia will!” Juvia exclaimed before jumping on Gray and saying, “Juvia loves you, Gray-sama!”  
   
Revolted, he clumsily shoved her away and slurred, “Where did that come from? I don’t want to kiss a stalker! I don’t love you! I don’t even _like_ you like that! Never have, never will! You’re always so creepy, stalking me and throwing yourself at me. Why can’t you be more normal, like Lucy?”  
   
 _This has to be a dream. My darling would never say this to Juvia. He wouldn’t._  
   
“J-Juvia just wants Gray-sama to kiss her. A little peck will do just fine…” she trailed off, looking up at him with a hopeful expression that had hints of confusion and hurt in it.  
   
In a drunken rage, Gray screamed, “I’m not going to kiss you! Not even a little peck on your hand! I never want to kiss you! In fact, I never ever want to _see_ you again! I hate you! So just leave me alone!”  
   
 _Gray-sama… Gray-sama hates Juvia… Gray-sama hates me. He hates me._  
   
Juvia turned around and ran with tears streaking down her face, her heart broken. She shoved her way through the crowds, slamming the guild doors open and sprinting away from Fairy Tail. Rain began pouring all over Magnolia, soaking her dress and hair. By the time she got back to her apartment at Fairy Hills, Magnolia was already starting to flood. She ran up the stairs and shoved her door open, slamming it closed behind her. When she reached the bed, she fell on top of it and started sobbing.  
   
 _This has to be a dream. It has to. Juvia did not mean to upset Gray-sama! She didn’t even plan it! All she wanted was a sweet kiss from her precious Gray-sama…_  
   
She continued sobbing, her spirit breaking more and more with each second. That night, all of Magnolia would sleep with the sky’s tears cascading over their houses and raging with the wind. The water filled up their streets and flooded their houses as everyone wondered why mother nature was angry at them. Even as the rain filled the city, it could never be able to fill the void in her heart.


	2. What Hurts the Most

Juvia woke up, immediately cheerful. She jumped up from bed and looked down at her clothing, confused as to why she was still in her party dress. However, she brushed it off and went to her window so she could look outside, only to find it dark and gloomy. The streets were covered in water, yet the sun was nowhere to be seen. Although she wondered about the sun's absence, her thoughts became clouded with a certain ice mage.  
  
 _Kya! Today is Christmas Day! Juvia can't wait to give her love present to Gray-sama, and then we can have 33 babies and..._  
  
 **“I’m not going to kiss you! Not even a little peck on your hand! I never want to kiss you! In fact, I never ever want to _see_ you again! I hate you! So just leave me alone!”**  
  
It all came back to her. The party where she became slightly tipsy, making her lead her beloved to the mistletoe. His rejection that tore her heart apart. Her tears that caused the sky to rain as she ran back to her apartment. Suddenly, Juvia's knees became weak and she fell to the ground, curling up into a tiny ball and gripping the part of her dress over her heart, trying to stop the pain that she was feeling.  
  
There was no stopping the tears that came out of her eyes, nor could she stop the sky from meeting her heart's demands. The rain began pouring again, creating noises against her roof. She began to cry even more, knowing that her cursed rain came back.  
  
 _Stupid, stupid Juvia. Juvia is going to flood all of Magnolia with her rain. Once the Rain Woman, always the Rain Woman. No one will care for Juvia anymore._ _Who is she kidding, no one ever cared for Juvia in the first place. No one could ever care for a person who causes everyone misery and gloominess wherever she goes. Juvia will be alone, just like she used to be. Just like she always had been._  
  


* * *

  
Little Juvia, no more than seven years old, walked around the orphanage hallways, trying to find a partner. The orphanage was going to have a field trip, and Juvia was determined to find a buddy. Since every kid had to have a buddy to go on a field trip, Juvia had never gone to one since no one wanted to be her buddy. This time, she was determined to get a buddy and go on this field trip. Seeing an open room with her peers in it, she was about to enter when she heard the group of kids mention her.  
   
 **"I wish Juvia wasn't coming with us. When she's around, it's always rainy and depressing."**  
   
Juvia felt her heart shatter. She did not notice she was crying until a tear fell onto her hand, slipping down onto the wooden floor. When she realized she was crying, she bolted down the hallway, not slowing down until she reached her bedroom. Immediately, she fell on top of her bed, letting the pillow absorb her tears. She sobbed for what seemed to be hours until a soft knock was heard on her door.  
   
“Juvia, we’re about to leave. Are you coming or not?” the orphanage lady called out.  
   
“B-but Miss Stephanie, I don’t have a buddy to go with,” Juvia replied, picking her head just high enough off of her bed to be understood.  
   
“Well, I’m sure we can find someone, but you need to go find someone _right now_ if you wish to go,” the woman replied.  
   
Stiffly, Juvia climbed off of her bed and trudged to the door. Opening the door, Juvia walked out of her room and looked at all the other rooms in the hallway. most people had to share a room with a few others, but everyone had complained so much about the rain that Juvia was forced to go into the smallest room. It became her prison. Trudging along, Juvia walked to the lobby where her so-called “friends” were. Shyly, Juvia approached her former roommate at tapped her on the shoulder. “Um, Delilah? I was wondering, would you be my partner for the trip?” Juvia timidly asked, nervously twiddling her thumbs.  
   
Not even turning around, Delilah replied, “Why would I? There’s a reason you have that room all to yourself and I sleep in a room with twenty other girls instead of just you. I don’t want your freaky-ness to rub off and infect me.”  
   
A chorus of "ew" erupted from the group of girls Delilah was with. "Yeah, she'll infect us all!"  
  
"It's no wonder her parents abandoned her! Who would ever want someone like _her_?"  
  
"Just leave me alone, water freak," Delilah spat at Juvia, sneering at her before sauntering away. Juvia went up to each and every person, but they all seemed to have a buddy. Even the other kids who were treated like outcasts shunned her and told her to get lost. Dejected, Juvia went up to Miss Stephanie with tears in her eyes. “Miss Stephanie?” Juvia meekly spoke, “I couldn’t find a partner.”  
   
“Does anyone not have a partner? Juvia still needs one!” the woman yelled, looking around the room.  
   
Every kid looked at Juvia and Miss Stephanie, but none raised their hand. The few kids who were standing alone scooted beside each other and whispered together, becoming partners so that there was no one who could be Juvia's buddy.  
   
“Oh…” Miss Stephanie trailed off. “Perhaps there is a pair that would volunteer to be a group of three with Juvia?"  
  
Again, no one raised their hand or offered to be with Juvia. Miss Stephanie looked around, unsure of what to do next. "Well... maybe _I_ could be your buddy for today. I normally try to not show favorites, but I will make an exception for today.”  
   
“That’s okay. I didn’t want to go anyway. I hope you all have fun,” Juvia spoke, giving a strained smile and weakly walking back to her prison cell called a bedroom.  
   
Juvia listened as all the children began playing together until Miss Stephanie was ready. Then the whistle blew and Juvia knew that all the other kids were getting into lines. She saw them march outside in the rain with umbrellas and rain clothing until they passed the side of the building and she could no longer watch them. When she heard the bus roar to life, she looked out the window once more and saw a yellow blur taking off down the road to go to the new skating rink in town. After she was sure that no one else was at the building, Juvia allowed herself to sob as loud as she could. That day, the town saw the worst flood they had ever seen.  
  


* * *

   
It was a rainy day, just as every day had been ever since Juvia had arrived at the orphanage. A slightly older Juvia was outside with the rest of the children. They were supposed to be playing outside, but no one was that excited about being drenched. "Why do we have to do this?" one child complained, tugging at Miss Stephanie's skirt.  
  
"Yeah, why do we have to be outside while it's raining?"  
  
"I hate rain!"  
  
"We're soaked," another whined.  
  
"Children, we have not played outside in _years_ because of the rain. Some of you don't even remember what it's like to play outside in the sun! Because of this, I have decided to force you all outside and face the consequences of a few runny noses and some wet clothes," Miss Stephanie announced, putting her hands on her hips.  
  
"We would want to play outside if it was sunny..." a little girl said.  
  
"Yeah! If _Juvia_ wasn't around to cause all the rain we'd be happy!"  
  
"Why don't we just get rid of her?!"  
  
"Enough! We will not be getting rid of anyone! You will all shut up about this!" Miss Stephanie yelled, her face red with anger.  
  
"Miss Stephanie?" a little boy asked.  
  
"What?!"  
  
"I have a poo-poo in my pants."  
  
"Fantastic," she muttered, pinching her nose. "Everyone, I am going inside to deal with an issue. While I am gone, _behave yourselves_ or there _will_ be consequences. Am I clear?!"  
  
Silence.  
  
 _"I said, am I clear_?!"  
  
"Yes ma'am!"  
  
Once Miss Stephanie and the little boy went inside, all the kids glared at Juvia. During the commotion, she had gone to the edge of the property line that the orphanage and a forest shared. She was standing in front of a few trees, hoping to blend in and disappear from sight. Sadly, fate did not favor her on this day. The kids approached Juvia with a dark gleam in their eyes. A boy eyed the little doll Juvia was clutching at her chest. Suddenly, he reached out and grabbed it before throwing it on the ground.  
  
 **"What's this?"** he sneered, stepping on the doll and mushing it around the mud with his shoes. The other children laughed and pointed at Juvia and her "stupid" doll. "You wanna stop the rain? How about you just go away!"  
  
Sobbing, Juvia ran to her room and slammed the door behind herself, not even acknowledging Miss Stephanie's surprised shout when she came into the building. Frantically, she rummaged around through her few items before finding her sewing stuff. Juvia began making doll after doll as she continued to sob. All the while, she wished for the rain to stop and the sun to come out. She hoped that if those two things would happen, then she would be accepted and loved.  
  


* * *

  
All of the comments affected her. Even the comments people were sure they had whispered.

**"Man, how depressing!"**   
**"This rain is so depressing."**   
**"It gets more depressing when it rains."**   
**"This is really depressing."**   
**"It's terrible when it rains. How depressing."**   
  


* * *

  
Juvia's one and only boyfriend broke up with her because of the rain. She thought he loved her, but apparently not.  
  
 **"Why is it always raining? I can't go fishing or camping with you around, can I?"** he complained, a whine evident in his voice. Although he was an impatient jerk, he was the only person willing to even acknowledge Juvia's existence. Besides, she believed that she was supposed to praise him and give him everything while he gave her nothing in return. That was how she thought relationships worked.  
  
"Juvia is sorry. But even Juvia can't do anything about it." She really meant her apology.  
  
 **"It's so depressing, it's unbearable. Perhaps we should break up."**  
  


* * *

  
Juvia has always been the rain woman, despite her trying to stop it. The rain is connected to her emotions and she cannot control what she feels. Juvia heard so many comments about how depressing her rain is, she decided to quit denying the claims and become what everyone already thought of her. Depressing. And who would accept a depressing rain woman like her?  
  
Not even Phantom Lord, Juvia's own guild, accepted her. Some feared her because of her elemental powers, others admired her and wishes to be like her, but no one ever accepted her or cared for her. Not even Master Jose accepted her. All he wanted was to have her powers under his control. in his eyes, Juvia was just his puppet and nothing more. The fearsome "Black Steel" Gajeel was the closest thing she had to a friend, but they weren't really friends. He was the only one who would put up with her rain for long, despite the fact that his iron qualities and her water powers would often leave him slightly rusted after they spent time together. She was the only one who did not fear him, so she was the only one he could feel normal around. She treated him like what they both really were, even when others did not see them that way. Human.  
  
When Phantom Lord declared war on Fairy Tail, Juvia had assumed that it would just be another easy battle against a measly, unprepared guild. She was given the task of kidnapping a girl. Lucy Heartfilia. A beautiful, kind, strong woman that any man would desire for himself. She ended up being rescued by a fire dragon slayer, the great Salamander, only for Gajeel to kidnap her and continue the cycle. Phantom Lord's guildhall had turned into a weapon of mass destruction, but even José was surprised when an attack team from Fairy Tail got on the machine and began picking off their members. Juvia was sent out to get rid of them, only to meet _him._  
  
Gray Fullbuster. The ice mage of Fairy Tail. He was the first person who could ever freeze her water, and the first to melt her cold heart with his warmth. Even after she kidnapped his _beloved_ Lucy, he still fought her with honor and dignity, something none of the other men that Juvia had met did. Even when he best her in battle, he didn't just let her fall and die. He grabbed her hand and saved her from death. He saved her from herself. He made her feel warm inside her chest and he gave her hope that life could actually get better. She knew right then that he would be the type of person to protect his family, his children, his _wife_ at all costs.  
  
From the moment she laid her eyes on him, she knew she was in love. He was kind and handsome, but that was not what made her love him. His expression when they met was concern for his nakama, his family, and a fierce threat in his eyes that promised demise for anyone who tried to get in his way or hurt his family. He was awkward and adorable. When they battled, he had frozen her and his hand was on her breast. She expected him to have done it on purpose. Many men had wanted her for her body and had made grabs at her, so she was used to that attention. Sexual offers were the only attention that she ever got from men. However, he was bashful and embarrassed for grasping her there, and apologized profusely for it. He even let her out of his ice, a move that could have cost him the battle.  
  
Who could blame her for falling in love with him? When Phantom Lord disbanded, Juvia was lost and she wondered what on Earth Land she would do now. Her mind immediately went to _him,_ but Fairy Tail would never accept her, right? Yet when she approached the guild master about her and Gajeel joining the guild, he was so kind and forgiving that Juvia wondered, _is this what a father is like?_ Many people were wary of Gajeel and Juvia, yet many people welcomed them in. Juvia took to calling Lucy her "Love Rival" but Juvia knew that if Gray-sama picked Lucy over her, she would not get in the way of the happiness of her beloved and her kind friend.  
  
Looking back on it, Juvia scoffed at her past self's thoughts.  
  
 _Yes, but Juvia never really thought that the day he picks Lucy-san over Juvia would actually come. Juvia hoped that he would pick Juvia, but his words say otherwise._  
  
 **Why can’t you be more normal, like Lucy?”**  
  
 _Why did he pick now to be rude to Juvia? He was so kind to Juvia and accepted her, never once saying something about her rain. He was perfect and-_  
  
 **"Geez, this rain is so depressing."**  
  
 _Oh. Juvia had forgotten that he had said that to Juvia._  
  
Even if he didn't know about Juvia's rain, it had stung her, just like every other comment had. He had always brushed off her advances and would never give her a clear answer. He acted like he was uninterested, but then got angry if another guy started flirting with her. He was bipolar. Rude one minute, sweet the next. He had called her creepy and was put off by any attempt she made at showing her love to him.  
  
 _Looking back on it, Juvia supposes that she had just gotten used to constantly being hurt by someone, only to forgive them immediately and then cling to them some more. Gajeel-kun had been like that during their time as Phantom Lord mages, so Juvia just thought that was how friends acted towards each other. Fairy Tail taught Juvia the truth._  
  
Despite all of the hurt he caused her, it was the other moments that kept her coming back to him. The moments when he wasn't hurting her. The moments when he was a sweet, kind, and caring person. Juvia hoped that his good side loved her and that _that_ day was just a bad day for him. She wanted to blame what he said Christmas Eve on him being drunk. She wanted to believe that she could walk back to the guild and he would apologize for what he said and tell her that it was the alcohol talking. Then he would whisk Juvia off her feet and suggest that they have thirty kids after they got married as everyone looked back on them in happiness and cheered them on.  
  
In the end, Juvia knew that wouldn't happen. She knew that his words were not the alcohol speaking, but a moment when the alcohol gave him enough courage to say what he had been feeling all along. She knew that deep down inside, he truly felt that way about her. He truly wished that she would be more like Lucy-san. He truly thought all those things about her. He would never love or even care for her, and that was the truth, no matter how harsh it may be.  
  
 _Juvia supposes, that lies are not nearly as hurtful as the truth. That the truth is truly what hurts the most._


	3. New Year, New Me

(A/N: TRIGGER WARNING. There is mentioning and brief description of cutting. Self-hate is a huge part of this chapter. If you don't think you can read this chapter, _don't read it_. I don't want to trigger any of you so please read safely.)  
  
Juvia didn't leave her apartment in Fairy Hills for days. Tears seemed to flow forever from her, and the rain wouldn't let up no matter how many Teru teru bōzu dolls she made (A/N: So, a Teru teru bōzu doll is a Japanese tradition. People make it to ward off rain and wish for sunshine. The words literally mean "shine shine monk"). She reminded herself of her lonely childhood self, and how miserable she was then.  
  
 _Lonely childhood? Juvia had forgotten that even in Fairy Tail, she was always an outsider. Always alone. Always lonely. A miserable Juvia? Juvia has always been miserable. Only able to cause misery..._  
  
Juvia would cry when she remembered her past. No one cared for her. Even her parents, the people who were supposed to care about her the most, abandoned her because they hated her so much. Her rain pushed everyone away after that. No one approached her, and the only way she could even get close to people was if she stalked them.  
  
 _Juvia's annoying stalking habits came from that time. Juvia was so desperate for human contact that she began watching and following others. Annoying Stalker. No wonder everyone saw- no, sees Juvia as a creep._  
  
Juvia cried so many tears that she wondered how her eyes had any water left in them at all. She cried because life just seemed so _unfair_. Her heart caused her so much pain that her hand clutched at at as she wished she could just rip it out and be done with the pain and misery it caused, both to herself and others.  
  
 _If only Juvia could be as beautiful as Erza-san, as kind as Mirajane, as smart as Levy-san... If Juvia was half as much of what Lucy-san is, would Gray-sama like her more?  
  
 **Who are you kidding?! Why would anyone choose someone like you over someone like Lucy? She's got everything. The looks, the power, the brain, the personality. What guy in his right mind would choose you over someone like that? Look at yourself! Moping around here while Lucy is out partying and having a good time.**_ _**You're pathetic and worthless and everyone knows it.**_  
  
 _Is... is that really true?  
  
 **Of course it is, you good-for-nothing idiot! If it wasn't true, then why has every single person who has entered your life left it?!**_  
  
 _B-but that is not Juvia's fault. They abandoned Juvia of their own accord, not because of Juvia._  
  
 _ **Every. Single. Person. Has. Left. You. You are just some lonely girl who everybody abandons. Everyone would be happier if you just ended your gloomy existence.**_  
  
Juvia's heart broke at that realization and she stopped moving. In a daze, she got up, wandering around her house. When she reached her bathroom, she looked at one of her razors and grabbed it. With frantic movements, she began slashing at her inner thighs, her arms, her legs, anything she could reach. However, when she made a new cut, it would disappear soon after, leaving a little bit of blood on her pale thighs as her water-based body continued to heal itself and close all the wounds.  
  
Desperate, she cut long and deep slashes, only for those to disappear as well, although they took a little bit longer to go away. After some time, Juvia gave up and flung the red-covered razor at the wall, leaving a red trail along the blue tile that covered her floors and splattering the warm liquid on all of the dolls that she made of her - former - beloved. Sobs began to wrack her body once more as she realized that she could not die by that method, or any other physical method like it.  
  
 _What did Juvia do to deserve being abandoned? To deserve a life of loneliness? What did Juvia ever do to deserve the curse that was her rain? Why is she not strong enough to control her cursed rain? Why is she not strong enough to end it all?_  
  
Juvia tried to stop crying. She tried to stop the rain, but she just _couldn't._ It was like the rain knew she wasn't okay and, despite her wishes, would continue to rain until she was better. Ironic, the one thing that caused her misery did not wish to leave until she was not miserable. Even as she sat, soaking in her own blood, the rain would not let up to heal her conscience and mend her heart.  
  
 _Juvia despises the rain, even if Juvia is the rain. Juvia supposes that means that Juvia despises herself. Dumb, depressing rain woman..._  
  


* * *

  
Self-hate for herself never seemed to end. Her mind was constantly filled with doubts, overtaking every second of thought. She knew that she should eat something, but every time she went into her kitchen, she'd remember every time she baked something for _him._ Every time she looked _anywhere_ in her house, all she could see was _him._ Plushies, posters, pillows, plans for anniversaries, plans for gifts, _everything_ reminded her of _him._ She didn't know how much more she could take of it.  
  
After a few days, Juvia was walking to the bathroom when she tripped. Her hand went flying and she heard something shred. When she looked up at her hand, she saw that she had accidentally ripped a poster of _him_. She stared at the ripped poster, looking at how it ripped straight through where his heart would be. Her hand let go of the piece of poster she had ripped off and it grabbed the poster again. Shakily, she tore another shred of the poster off and looked at the pieces of poster still left on the wall. Tears began streaming down her face as her other hand ripped the last few shreds off the wall.  
  
For a moment, she stared at the section of the wall that was now blank. That was the final straw; Juvia snapped. An inhumane laugh left her mouth as she turned to another poster and ripped it off the wall as well. She began running around the house, ripping all of the Gray posters, tearing all of the Gray plushies, getting rid of _anything_ that reminded her of _him._ When she stopped, she looked around her apartment and was faced with an utter chaos. When her rage disappeared, she realized what she had just done. She fell down and broke into tears.  
  
 _Gray-sama, Juvia is so sorry. Juvia is so, so sorry, Gray-sama..._  
  
She stayed that way all night. Even as the moon began to peak out from the trees, her cries continued to come as the rain never let up. Her heart ached as she wished away all of the pain.  
  


* * *

  
When she woke up, Juvia looked around her apartment and saw how messed up it was. Hesitantly, she got up and started cleaning her apartment. She picked up all the trash and put it in trash bags. She got out the broom and mop bucket and vacuum, using them to make sure her apartment was spotless. By the time she got rid of everything that couldn't be salvaged and finished cleaning, she took a look around her apartment. There was nothing reminding her of _him._ Not a single thing that remained could even be related back to _him._ Her apartment was empty of _him_. Empty of anything, it felt like.  
  
 _Empty. Just like her heart._  
  
Juvia looked outside, only to see it pouring. It was almost like the rain was mocking her.  
  
 _Maybe if Juvia died, the rain would stop. Maybe if Juvia found a way to die, the miserable rain would end. Maybe-_  
  
Juvia's phone began to ring, breaking her out of her spiraling thoughts. Shakily, she stumbled over to her phone and noticed that it read: CALLER ID GAJEEL REDFOX. Although she contemplated hanging up on him, she knew that it would not end well, so she answered anyway.  
  
"Gajeel-kun?" Juvia sniffled, her voice giving away the fact that she had been crying.  
  
"Oi, Juvia, what's yer problem? Yer normally here at the guild falling over yer _'beloved Gray-sama'_ an-" Gajeel stopped when he heard sobbing.  
  
Juvia couldn't help but cry when Gajeel mentioned Gray.  
  
"Juvia, is everything alright? What happened? When I said somethin' about the Ice Queen you-" Gajeel sucked in a breath and paused for a few tense seconds. "What did the stripper do to you?" Gajeel growled.  
  
"Ah, G-Gr... _He_ did nothing to Juvia," she responded.  
  
"Yer a terrible liar, ya know that? Now, **_what did he do?_** 'Cuz if I don't get a reply, I'm gonna punch 'im so hard he won't be more than an ice stain in the guild hall-" Gajeel started.  
  
"Gajeel-kun will do no such thing!" Juvia interrupted. "Gajeel-kun, Juvia will talk to you about it some time, okay? Juvia just needs a little time..."  
  
Gajeel sighed, and Juvia could practically see him run his fingers through his bushy hair. "Yer not gettin outta this, ya hear?! I'll call ya later, but ya gotta tell me _everything_ at some point, got it?"  
  
"Hai, Gajeel-kun," Juvia replied, already tired from the interaction after being secluded for so long. Suddenly, a thought popped into her head. "Oh, Gajeel-kun, what time is it?"  
  
"Eleven fifty-five," Gajeel said. "Oh, an' since I ain't gonna talk ta ya 'till tomorrow, happy New Year, Juvia."  
  
With that, Gajeel hung up.  
  
 _It's New Year's Eve Already? That means Juvia has spent almost a week at her apartment!_  
  
Juvia sighed and set her phone down, looking at the crystal blue color of it. When Juvia went into her bathroom, she looked in the mirror at her disheveled appearance. It was _definitely_ not a good look for her.  
  
"Juvia, it is New Year's Eve," Juvia stated to her mirror self. "As normal, Juvia will change into a different Juvia. A _new_ Juvia."  
  
Juvia looked herself up and down in the mirror, evaluating herself and what she could improve about herself.  
  
"Looks like Juv- _I_ have a lot of work to do."


	4. January First

Gajeel was _very_ confused. Juvia always loved the stripper. She was devoted to him to a slightly unhealthy extent, calling all the other girls he encountered "Love Rivals" and stalking him daily. She owned plush upon plush and poster upon poster that had Gray all over it. She bathed with a Gray loofah and had a Gray towel to dry off with for crying out loud! Even though the ice prick had said and done some bad things to her, she always brushed it off and came running back to him. Always. She loved him, so Gajeel never thought this day would come. Juvia was crying ** _because of Gray._** Gray had gone _too far,_ and Gajeel was going to find out _what_ he did and make him _pay_ for it.  
  
 _No one picks on my best friend except me, and **no one** hurts my best friend unless they have a death wish._  
  
"So what was the matter with Juvia, Gajeel?" a deep voice asked, bringing Gajeel back to reality. He turned toward Pantherlily and looked him dead in the eye, a murderous expression slowly covering his face. Gajeel had been at home celebrating with Pantherlily since most of the guild's parties were too hectic for him sometimes. Pantherlily had expressed concern for Juvia since he hadn't seen her since Christmas Eve, not even around Gray when he had been out and about in town. Although he did not show it, Gajeel was worried for his oldest friend. He had immediately called Juvia, only to hear her sniffling when she picked up the phone.  
  
"It's the stripper," Gajeel growled, answering Pantherlily's question. "He did somethin' that hurt Juvia and now she's a sobbin' mess. I'm gonna make that jerk feel _so bad_ he won't even think about hurtin' her every again. He'll wet his pants outta fear an won't even _try_ tah get near her ever again. Why, I oughta-"  
  
"That's enough, Gajeel," Pantherlily interrupted. "You are clearly upset about it all, and that logic will get you no where. It's already almost midnight, so why don't we call it a night. _Tomorrow_ , we will go to the guild and ask people about it. Although, that would explain the current weather conditions..."  
  
Both mages looked outside at the storm that was obviously caused by Juvia. Gajeel began to get heated once again at the thought that rain that heavy would be caused by his best friend's sadness.  
  
"I wanna make that stripper pay for it _now_ -"  
  
"We will go tomorrow-"  
  
"Look outside, ya dumb cat! Do you see that storm? That's 'cause Juvia's crying at her apartment, _alone_ , because the dumb Ice Princess decided to get a big head and break my friend's heart. She loves him and he hurt her! I wanna make him cry like she is and feel ten times the pain she is so that he'll never say anything mean to her again!" Gajeel yelled, his fists clenched as he struggled to keep his breathing in check.  
  
Pantherlily sighed, "We will go tomorrow. For now, just calm down the best you can and get some rest."  
  
"I wanna go an' check on her. I promise I won't track down the stripper tonight. 'Sides, you'll go with me to make me keep my promise of I want to or not."  
  
"Not in this rain, Gajeel! A normal person would be soaked and run risks of getting a cold or worse, but you would turn into a pile of rust in this rain! You can't go, Gajeel not today. But I guess... tomorrow. We will go and find Gray and then check in on Juvia tomorrow, okay?"  
  
Gajeel mumbled something incoherent.  
  
"Gajeel?"  
  
"Fine. We'll wait tomorrow."  
  
"Good. Now, since it's past midnight, we need to get to bed so that we will have our strength for tomorrow's activities. We will clean up this mess of iron that _you_ made tomorrow as well. But for now... goodnight. And Gajeel," Pantherlily trailed off, his tail swishing back and forth. He turned around to face Gajeel and a smirk appeared on his face. "Happy New Year."  
  
With that, Pantherlily went to his bed and turned out all the lights in the apartment, save for the lamp beside Gajeel's bed. Grumbling, Gajeel went to his room and plopped on his bed, muttering about how he wanted to punch something cold and stupid. Gajeel reached for his bedside table and opened the top drawer, taking out some iron from it. Annoyed, Gajeel bit off pieces of iron and munched on it before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.  
  


* * *

  
When he woke up, Gajeel immediately noticed that the sun was glaring at him from outside. _Maybe Juvia's feelin' a bit better. At any case, the ice princess is still in for a pounding when I see him._ Grumbling, Gajeel got up and noticed the smell of bacon wafting through his house. "Lily?" he called out, stumbling into the kitchen. There was the exceed, flying around the kitchen with a pink apron on, cooking breakfast.  
  
"Good morning Gajeel," Pantherlily replied, nodding his head at Gajeel before going back to his chef duties. "I figured that you would want a decent meal before going to find out what happened to Juvia, so I decided to make you breakfast."  
  
With that, Pantherlily brought two plates of hot food and two glasses of milk and set them on the table. Then he grabbed a few kiwis and some iron pieces before setting them down at different seats. After he checked to make sure that all the appliances were off, Pantherlily sat down at the able while Gajeel sat down at the other end.  
  
When the two had finished their meal, Pantherlily began cleaning up as Gajeel got dressed. After they both were ready, the duo headed out of their apartment and wordlessly strolled down the streets of Magnolia. Puddles were everywhere and the river was abnormally high, but the sun was shining and people were out playing in the slush and snow. Gajeel reflected on his and Juvia's conversation the night before, and he became more riled up the more he thought about it. Finally, they reached Fairy Tail's doors.  
  
Gajeel burst through the doors of the guild, furious at the prospect of Juvia being hurt. Everyone turned their heads toward the entrance, since they were all hung over from the New Year's Eve party they had the night before.  
  
"Hey, can't you be a little more quiet? Some of us have a headache, you know."  
  
"Yeah, you've gotta have some sympathy for us."  
  
Gajeel payed no attention to anyone as he stalked through the guild. Suddenly, he stopped in front of Gray and growled, "Oi, Stripper! Whatd'ya do to Juvia? She ain't her normal psycho self, and it has somethin' ta do with ya!"  
  
Gray looked up from the bar, still nursing his hangover from the wild party the night before. He had immediately remembered the conversation he had with Juvia, and guilt was written all over his face. He had been getting drunk every night afterwards in a futile attempt to forget what he had said and done to the water mage, but every morning he woke up with a pounding headache and his memories intact. At the moment, Gray didn't know what to say.  
  
"Did ya hear me, ice prick? You made Juvia _cry._ So I'm gonna ask ya one more time, what did ya do to Juvia?" Gajeel was beyond furious at this point due to getting the silent treatment.  
  
The entire guild had gone dead silent, and everyone was looking at Gray, wondering what he did to make Juvia cry. Gray sighed, and resigned himself to his fate. "Well-" Gray shakily began, "It all started during that Christmas Eve party a few days ago..."

  
When Gray finished recounting that conversation, the entire guild stared at him in shock, wondering how he could be so cruel. Sure, he always brushed Juvia off and could be a little cold at times, but they never thought he would do something like that. Gajeel began marching up to Gray, bloodlust seeping out of him, but Erza beat him to it.  
  
SMACK!  
  
"Why would you say that to Juvia? She may be a little too expressive of her emotions sometimes, but that does not give you any right to say those things to her! You hurt a comrade, your _nakama_ , Gray!" Erza yelled.  
  
Gray cowered, too afraid to say anything back. When he looked around at the rest of the guild, he saw a mix of emotions on their faces: sympathy (for Juvia), shock, anger, and _disappointment._ Right when Erza was getting ready to pummel Gray, Natsu grabbed her arm, preventing her from striking again.  
  
"Erza, stop." Natsu commanded. "Gray will see soon enough the damage he has caused." Natsu turned to look at Gray and said, "As for you, Gray, think about what you said, not to a stalker, not to some fangirl, but your fellow **nakama** \- the people you're supposed to **protect** and **care for**. I'm disappointed in you, Gray, and I know everyone else here is, too."  
  
Gray looked down, ashamed of his actions. He got up and was heading toward the guild doors with all eyes on him, doing a walk of shame worse than after a one-night stand. Suddenly, the guild doors opened again and everyone looked toward the entrance, curious as to who was there. Shock wasn't even close enough to describe what they felt when they saw the person at the guild entrance. Gray could barely choke out the person's name as his eyes seemed to bulge out of his head.  
  
"Juvia?"


	5. Penny for Your Thoughts

"Juvia?"  
  
Juvia walked into the guild hall with a completely different look. Instead of her normal outfit, she wore a black leather jacket decorated with blue swirls and a light blue-grey shirt poking out underneath. Her mid-thigh shorts were a deep blue color that matched the jacket's swirls' color. She had on black boots with heels that nearly reached her shorts. The boots were laced with dark blue thread all the way from the toes to the top and ended in a neat little bow on top. Dark sunglasses held back her now long and wavy hair that glowed in the light. In days gone past, Juvia wore make-up every day because she felt like she had many flaws to cover, but now, her face a few little freckles here and there, showing that Juvia was wearing no make-up. Despite her lack of make-up, she had an air of confidence that left everyone breathless. Juvia was **_stunning._**  
  
Everyone's jaw dropped as they all stared at her, wondering _'just how on Earthland did she get over Gray so quickly?'_ and thinking _'man, I should've noticed how beautiful she is'._ Juvia glanced back and forth between her comrades and waited for someone to say something, but silence was the only thing she heard. After a few minutes, Juvia finally got up the courage and asked, "Why is everyone staring at me?"  
  
 _'Since when did Juvia not talk in third person?'_ was the collective thought that ran throughout the room, but no one else said anything until Gray cleared his throat. "Juvia," Gray began, "Hey, uh, well I guess... I mean-"  
  
"Does anyone hear something? Because _I_ hear _nothing,"_ Juvia mocked, walking straight past Gray. He flinched and hung his head low, realizing that a small, simple apology was not going to make everything better. Juvia kept on walking by, but stopped when she got in front of Lucy. "As I am no longer in love, you are no longer my love rival, Lucy. Now we can be friends!" Juvia cheered. Then, Juvia started _hugging_ Lucy.  
  
Lucy stood, shock spreading across her face. After coming to her senses, Lucy happily returned the hug and squeezed her friend. That seemed to snap everyone out of their shock, and people started going back to what they were previously doing, only a few sparing glances at the changed water mage. Everyone began to think about other things again. Everyone but a certain ice mage.

* * *

  
Gray couldn't seem to move; his body was paralyzed as his mind went into overdrive.  
  
 _Juvia doesn't love me anymore. She doesn't even like me. She didn't acknowledge I was there. Does that mean she hates me? Does it? It probably does. She hates me. **Juvia hates me.**  
  
Of course she does! Why wouldn't she? You were horrible to her!  
  
I was drunk; I didn't mean it!  
  
Are you sure about that? Even if it was just the alcohol talking, it's still not right to say those things to her, drunk or not!  
  
You're right. What I did was unforgivable._  
  
 __You think!?  
  
Shut up. Anyway, why should I care about that? I should be happy. Now I won't have a creepy stalker! I can talk to girls without them being scared away! I can have a girlfriend without worrying for her safety. I can-  
  
Would Juvia really have done something to harm an innocent person just because you loved that person? Would she really have done something cruel to another woman in love who followed her heart and is with the man she loves? Would she? Because I think her jealousy is all bark and no bite. She is too kind to ever hurt someone over something so petty, and you **know** it's true.  
  
...  
...  
...  
...  
  
You're right. Juvia would never actually hurt someone, but she is a stalker.  
  
Yeah, that was really creepy, but she still is a great person, just a little quirky.  
  
Now that I don't have a stalker, I should be happy. **I should be happy.** Why am I not happy? Why?

* * *

  
While Gray was having an internal argument, the rest of the guild was still in shock, even if they were doing their best to hide it. Juvia had changed. Although it wasn't an unwelcome change, it was still an odd feeling to look at the once stalker who was hopelessly in love and see someone who at least appeared to be independent, confident, and strong. She was currently sitting at the bar, chatting with the other females and drinking a large amount of alcohol. After a while of chugging drinks, Cana pointed at Juvia and yelled, "Hey Juvia! you're drinking a lot tonight, so let's have some fun with it! I challenge you to a drinking contest!"  
  
Juvia was shocked and hesitant, but quickly snapped out of it and responded, "Do you think you can beat me?"  
  
Everyone stared at the two and some felt pity for Juvia. "She's gonna regret that in the morning..." Macao whispered to Wakaba, eyeing the two beauties up and down.  
  
"Oh, you're on," Cana said.  
  
Grabbing Juvia's wrist, Cana dragged her to a table and gently nudged her to the seat before taking her seat across from her. "Mira!" she announced, "Bring out your finest drinks!"  
  
"Okay," Mira hesitantly replied, bringing out a tray of different alcoholic drinks.  
  
"You ready, Juvia?" Cana taunted.  
  
"I am."  
  
"Three, two, one... Go!"  
  
With that, Juvia and Cana began downing their drinks one after the other. At first, Cana was ahead of Juvia by a few drinks and everyone was betting when the two girls would drop, all bets on Cana's victory. After a little while, Juvia began to catch up to Cana and the two were suddenly guzzling down their drinks at the same time, neither stopping for more than a few seconds between each drink. Master sighed and teared up at how much alcohol was being consumed. "These brats are gonna run me down the drain!"

"C'mon Gramps, with Cana around our alcohol is always scarce," Laxus quipped, eyeing Juvia with an inquisitive look.

"You think Juvia's okay?" Gramps wondered aloud, concern etched in his voice.

"Dunno. Probably not, but if she isn't ready to show the pain, then this facade is for the best."

"I'm not so sure about that, my boy, but we should let her choose when to talk to someone."

"Hmmm."  
  
Although their friendly competition had started during broad daylight, the night hours began to creep up and the two were still going at it. Everyone crowded around the pair as they watched in astonishment at how much Juvia could drink. Finally, both girls stopped and looked at each other, observing how the other looked way too hammered to function. "You'll-" Cana began, interrupted by her own hiccup. "Y-you'll never beat me, J-Juvia..." With that, Cana fell down, unconscious on the guild hall's floor. The room was silent as everyone stared at the astonishing scene until Juvia spoke.  
  
"I believe I will win, dear Cana," Juvia announced proudly, standing up from her chair even though it was a struggle. "Who's next?!" she boldly challenged, swaying a bit when she raised her empty mug in the air.  
  
"Fight me, Juvia!" Natsu yelled, his fist already aflame as he ran to meet her. Juvia happily dodged the punch and threw one of her own, sending a mean left hook at Natsu. Just like that, a fight broke out and everyone began joining in on the friendly brawl. Titania joined when her precious strawberry cake was destroyed by a blast of fire. "Natsu! You will pay for this injustice!" she screamed, leaping into the mass of fighting bodies and attacking the poor dragon slayer.  
  
"Now this is my type of party!" Gajeel yelled before punching Natsu in the face. The party was in full swing, and the only person who wasn't completely hammered at the moment was Juvia. Despite her alcoholic battle with Cana, Juvia seemed to be one of the most sober people in the room. As the guild turned into a chaotic mess, the master sobbed quietly in a corner about the property damage costs while everyone else enjoyed themselves in the brawl. The only members besides the master who were not participating in the fighting were Cana, who was still passed out on the floor, and Mirajane, who was smiling a seemingly oblivious smile while standing at the bar and doing her normal barmaid duties.  
  
As the fighting died down, more and more people began passing out, either from the brawl or from drinking. Things started to settle down a bit and eventually the people who were still conscious were just lying around, drinking, and acting like idiots. At around midnight, an _extremely_ drunk iron dragon slayer got up and shakily stumbled over to the stage before falling face first on it. Grunting, he got up and sat on the edge of the stage, holding out his empty beer mug while slurring, "Fillsh me up, Mirashaane."  
  
"I think you've had quite enough to drink, Gajeel," Mirajane answered, not moving an inch toward the dragon slayer.  
  
"Whash? Yer dare tah defy meh? Why ya gotta persh meh down like dat? Ersh it cuz I sang betta than ya ever could hope tah? Thersh's it! Yah are jea- jea- jealoush cuz I'mma besht singa evah!"  
  
An evil glint appeared in Mirajane's eyes as a threatening aura began to surround her. "Oh, so you think you can challenge me?" she questioned, her eyebrow raised in a manner that clearly threatened anyone who dare defy her. Cheers began erupting from the conscious people as they started to watch the battle with anticipation. Thanks to the distraction, Juvia was able to quietly slip away from the party, unnoticed by all except for a certain blonde. Curious about what Juvia was doing, the blonde followed Juvia out of the guild.

  
Juvia walked through the town slowly, glancing up in fear at the sky every few minutes. She even held out her hand a few times to test something, but her blonde follower just could not figure out what Juvia was doing. When Juvia got back to her apartment in Fairy Hills, she opened the door and quietly slipped in, closing the door but forgetting to lock it. She stumbled to the mirror that was in her room and fell down in front of it, placing her hand on the fragile glass and looking at her image. After a few tense seconds, a sob broke out from her lips.


	6. Blonde, James Blonde

Juvia was on the floor of her apartment, sobbing her heart out. The blonde who followed Juvia home stood outside her apartment door, confused. The rain that begun pouring down outside was enough of a hint as to what Juvia's current mood was, but the person could also hear Juvia crying through the apartment door. After a few minutes of questioning what to do, the blonde slowly opened the door and looked at the water mage with an unreadable expression on the blonde's face. Juvia looked at the blonde with a confused and shocked expression and teary eyes, sniffling every few seconds. The blonde's eyes were open wide, an expression that clearly showed uncertainty of what to do next. The next few moments were tense as the two stared at each other, silent and stiff. Everything had stilled, as if the world was holding its breath, waiting to see what would happen.  
  
Ever so carefully, the blonde slowly started walking towards Juvia. Each step echoed off the walls in the hallway, since the apartment door was in the back of the blonde's mind. "Juvia..." the blonde whispered, hesitantly reaching out and softly putting a hand on Juvia's cheek, wiping away her tears with a thumb. The blonde's unused arm poised itself so that it would be ready to hold Juvia should she accept the blonde's comfort. Juvia looked up at the blonde, her lips contorted into a pained grimace and her eyes causing tears to cascade down her face. Suddenly, Juvia broke their eye contact and embraced the blonde, clinging onto the blonde as if the blonde was her only hope. Juvia did not even notice the blonde's tense posture at Juvia's sporadic embrace. When the initial shock wore off, the blonde slowly returned the hug, silently embracing Juvia.  
  
The two people stayed in that position for what seemed like an eternity – not speaking, not moving – immobile as Juvia cried on the blonde's shoulders, letting out all of her sorrow and pain that she had bottled up. "W-wh..." Juvia attempted to say as a wet hiccup erupted from her throat, stopping her sentence. "Don't talk," the blonde quietly ordered, giving Juvia a gentle squeeze. So there the two stayed, tightly embracing each other for a long while, neither one speaking as one offered comfort that the other desperately need. Despite it being what Juvia desperately wanted, what Juvia desperately _needed_ , her mind was overrun as she could only think one thing while sobbing into the blonde's shoulder.  
  
 _Why?_  
  


* * *

  
  
Deep into the night, the blonde shifted about uncomfortably after being in the same position for hours on end. When the blonde finally mustered up the courage, the blonde whispered, "Hey." No reply came from the previously sobbing girl, save for a soft snore. The blonde snorted at the realization. "Baka. You'll collapse more if you keep on pushing yourself like this," the blonde softly scolded, dragging the sleeping girl to her bed. Once she was situated on her mattress, the blonde let out a sigh and sat at the end of the bed, careful not to sit on the water mage's feet. Staring at the blue-haired girl's resting form, the blonde's eyebrows pinched together in concern while studying her features. A soft, delicate hand crossed over her stomach and a few strands of hair covered her face. The blonde reached over and brushed all the hair away from her face, relishing in the feeling of her soft locks before staring at her cute face.  
  
Without a sound, the blonde slipped away from the bed, although the blonde was reluctant to do so. Immediately, the blonde missed the girl's warmth. Looking around, the blonde noticed the blank walls and empty rooms, noting with great surprise that there was nothing of Gray anywhere. Slowly, the blonde left the room, careful not to slam the door. Taking one final look at Juvia, the blonde made a silent promise.  
  
 _I will keep her safe, no matter what._


	7. A Very Special Day

A week later, Juvia woke up and adrenaline rushed through her body, excitement thundering in her heart and filling up her heart. Although it was still dark outside, she had no luck in sleeping due to her nervousness about the present day. She had embarrassed herself in front of one of her friends that she hardly even knew! What was even worse, she woke up in her own bed. That meant that the blonde had to heave her heavy body up and slug it on the bed. When that realization had hit her the morning after, she immediately made a promise to herself. She would go back to the guild in a week's time and pretend like nothing ever happened. Juvia got up and looked at her clock, not at all surprised that it was four in the morning. After taking a nice, long shower, she ate a small breakfast before throwing on a cute out fit and walking out the door.  
  
When Juvia arrived at the guild, the sun had just begun to change the sky's color. She knew that the guild was closed until seven, but she also knew that a certain barmaid would frequently come in early and set things up. Juvia tried to open the guild's doors, but they were locked, so she knocked on the guild doors and clasped her hands together. Mirajane opened the door with shock written all over her features, although a smile quickly replaced it.  
  
"Well isn't this a surprise," Mira giggled, holding a hand up to her cheek. "Good morning, Juvia! It's been a little while since you've been here, but you seem to be okay, so I guess everything's been getting better for you. The guildhall isn't quite ready yet, but I don't normally expect people to be here so early. Sorry."  
  
"It's fine. In fact, I came here early today so that I could be of assistance," Juvia replied.  
  
"Oh, you don't have to. Really, I've got it covered," Mira said, waving her hand in dismissal.  
  
"Please Mirajane, let me help. I want to, and it looks like there is quite a lot of clean-up to be done before the guildhall is ready for another crazy day."  
  
"Well, I could use a bit of help..."  
  
"Please?"  
  
"Okay, you can help!" Mira cheered, swinging the door open for Juvia to come in. Mirajane walked back into the kitchen, leaving Juvia alone. Scanning the guildhall, Juvia quickly realized just how messy the guild was. There were stains everywhere, so it was to be assumed that there was a food fight the night before. Using her water powers, Juvia quickly cleaned up the messes with a wave of her hand. After that, it took her all of ten minutes to finish straightening up all of the chairs and tables. Satisfied with her work, Juvia marched into the kitchen.  
  
"Juvia, what are you doing?" Mira asked, confusion covering her face.  
  
"It was nothing that a water mage couldn't handle, so I finished up in there and came in here to cook..."  
  
"What? But I can cook, I'm used to doing a lot. You really don't have to do this much," Mira protested.  
  
"Nonsense. You've taken care of this guild all by yourself for so long that you don't know how much work is  _too much_  work. I volunteered to help you, so I  _am_ going to help. And don't think that I haven't noticed the dark circles under your eyes. You have overworked yourself. Now go, get some rest. I have learned how to cook since my past, ah,  _mistakes_  and will make some delicious things! After all, today is a very special day!" Juvia cheered.  
  
"What makes today so special?" Mira inquired.  
  
"Well, today I'm a part of Fairy Tail and have all of my wonderful family around me. We're all ready and waiting for the next big adventure in our family's destiny. Isn't that enough cause for celebration every day?" Juvia said, a wistful expression coating her face. After hearing this, Mira smiled softly at Juvia.  
  
"You really have changed, haven't you? I remember all the stories about you before you joined Fairy Tail. How you were so sad, so depressed. You seemed to have no reason for living," Mira spoke, her voice quiet. "You were a shell of a person. And now look at you. You've become so happy, so strong, so full of life. You celebrate each day like it was your last, exactly how we teach in Fairy Tail. You're like a little sister to me, have been ever since you came here and asked to join us. I've cared for you since the very beginning, and over time, the entire guild has grown to love you too."  
  
Juvia looked down, her eyes growing sad. "I don't think that it entirely true," she revealed, sheepishly crossing her arms in front of her chest.  
  
"Why would you say that?"  
  
"Although they haven't said anything, the Thunder Legion doesn't seem to like me."  
  
"What would make you think that? I think they really do care for you."  
  
"Then why have they never approached me and apologized for what happened? Did they think that I would just forget about how they tormented all of us right before the Fantasia Parade? How they specifically patronized Gajeel and me?"  
  
"... I'm sorry you feel that way, Juvia. I hope you know, I truly think that you are family to them now, same as all our other guild members."  
  
"I doubt that, but it's fine... Anyway, go and rest. I'll start cooking!"  
  
Begrudgingly, Mira slumped away to the storage room for a well-deserved nap. Juvia rolled up the sleeves on her flannel button-down and sported a determined look on her face, preparing the kitchen for some quality cooking from Fairy Tail's newest cook.  
  


* * *

 

  
When the guildhall opened, people came in and happily ate all of the delicious food. Juvia was taking care of the food and the bar, which confused many people. Every time someone asked about Mira's absence and Juvia's new role, Juvia would just smile and tell them that Mira was taking a well-deserved break. The food was seemingly inhaled by everyone who had some, and they all got their buddies to eat the food with them. Juvia was rushing all morning, keeping the food coming for everyone. She dreaded what would happen when Natsu started eating his lunch and not just snacking on the extra spicy dishes that she never liked cooking.  
  
His mouth stuffed with food, Natsu loudly asked, "Where's Mira?"  
  
 _Speak of the devil..._  
  
"Like I've said, Mirajane is taking a nice, long break," Juvia responded, bringing Natsu his tenth plate of super spicy chicken.  
  
"Then who's cookin'? Only Mira can cook this good, and you said she's takin' a nap."  
  
"Actually, I was the one who prepared everything," Juvia admitted, a blush spreading across her face as she shyly set down Natsu's food in front of him.  
  
"Wow! It's really you?"  
  
"M-hm!"  
  
"I didn't know you could cook this great, Juvia! I gues it's 'cause I've never eaten your food before, but that was because it was always just for-"  
  
"Natsu! Don't finish that sentence, or I will Lucy Kick you all the way to Hargeon!" Lucy threatened, a scowl covering her face and a finger raised to poke Natsu's chest in an intimidating way.  
  
Natsu gulped. "Aye sir," he weakly replied, fear covering his face as he grimaced. Juvia laughed at the duo's antics, wondering why they still are not an official couple. It was obvious that they were each other's object of affection, even Happy and Asuka noticed it! Juvia wondered why she thought Lucy liked anyone else.  
  
 _They sure are slow, but I suppose nothing more could have been expected from them..._  
  
As they were talking, Mira walked out of the storage room, her hair a little ruffled as she rubbed her eyes. Thankfully, the dark circles under her eyes seemed to be under control and the color appeared much more vibrantly than before. She approached the group, standing beside Juvia with her hands clasped together in front of her. "Hey Mira! Did you know Juvia could cook?" Natsu cheered, his words garbled by the food in his mouth as he pointed his messy fork at Juvia.  
  
"I found out this morning, but it really did take me by surprise. By the way, thank you for doing all of this, Juvia," Mira spoke, smiling at the blue-haired girl. "I know from experience that it's not easy keeping up with Natsu's endless appetite."  
  
"Oh, it was nothing, really."  
  
"Just wait until he asks you for another serving after he's already had one hundred orders of the same dish. You won't be brushing it off then-"  
  
"Hey Mira," Nastu interrupted, "Have you seen Gray around lately? I haven't seen him since Juvia walked in all different a week ago and pretended like he wasn't there. By the way, really nice work there, Juv-"  
  
Natsu quickly received a slap to the face, a red mark now covering his cheek. "Ow! Lucy, what was that for?" Nastu whimpered, rubbing his cheek with his grease-drenched fingers.  
  
"Don't mention  _him_  in front of Juvia, baka! She's still getting through that," Lucy scolded, glaring at Natsu and hitting his head once more for good measure. She then sent an apologetic and sympathetic wince towards Juvia.  
  
"Oh no, it's okay. I'm not  _that_ affect by his name anymore. G-Gray. Gray Fullbuster... See? I'm okay with it. I promise. I'm okay. Everything's fine. I'm okay," Juvia profusely insisted. However, her eyes were glazed over in grief and pain, her words coming out in a struggle and her breathing ragged.  
  
Lucy and Mira just looked at Juvia with sympathy, knowing that she  _wasn't_ okay. They shared a glance towards each other and as if they could read each other's thoughts, they winced in sync and shared a knowing look that promised comfort for the struggling blue-haired girl. At the same time, Natsu stood up and shouted, "Fight me!" His fist became covered in flames and his trademark grin broke out. Right as he jumped up, ready to punch someone, the guild doors opened.


	8. Unexpected Company

The guild doors slammed open, the Thunder God Tribe confidently strolling in. Evergreen and Bickslow went over to their normal table in their unofficial corner while Freed went over to the mission board. After a few minutes of looking, he plucked one off the wall and carried it over to his teammates. They discussed something, and Freed sighed before leaving the table. he then approached the group of Natsu, Lucy, Mira, and Juvia. Stopping in front of Mira, Freed stated, "Mira, I wish to discuss a certain mission with you, if you wouldn't mind."  
  
Mira turned towards Freed and replied, "I'm always happy to help! What do you need?"  
  
"Well," Freed started, "There is a mission that requires a team of people to help set up and run a festival in a town a little ways away from here. The pay is fantastic and our powers would be very successful at getting the job done. The only problem is that the mission requires a water mage. Could you contact the employer and see about them sending off a different job request for that water mage?"  
  
Mira giggled, her smile hidden by her hand. "You know that's not how missions work, Freed," she lightly reprimanded. "But you are in luck, because Juvia right here is a wonderful water mage who happens to have a free schedule."  
  
When Mira said this, Juvia's jaw dropped to the floor.  
  
"A-a-ano, you want me to do _what_?" Juvia stuttered.  
  
"Well, think about it. The pay will be excellent, so after this mission, you won't have to do another mission for some time. Plus, it will give you some more time to bond with you fellow nakama! Why wouldn't you want to do it?" Mira wondered.  
  
Juvia cast a nervous glance towards the Thunder God Tribe's table and a hint of uncertainty passed over her face. Clutching her empty tray to her chest, Juvia bit her lip in deep thought. After some time, Juvia responded, "I-I guess that it's okay. Will it just be the three of you?"  
  
"Tch. Where would they be without me? They've never done anything without me, so why would they start now?" Laxus's voice boomed, having just arrived at the guild hall.  
  
With a squeak, Juvia jumped up at the unexpected person behind her and dashed behind Mira, who cast a concerned glance towards Juvia, but said nothing about the unusual outburst.  
  
"Laxus! You're back!" Freed squealed, tackling Laxus in a tight hug.  
  
"Really?" Laxus sighed.  
  
"Oh right, sorry about that," Freed apologized. "Anyway, I'm fine with Juvia joining us."  
  
"As long as we get the reward."  
  
"Um, yeah. Sure, I guess..." Juvia hesitantly agreed.  
  
Laxus cleared his throat and impatiently stated, "Well, if you're done, you should go home and pack your things. The mission will take more than a few days, so be sure to pack enough."  
  
Evergreen and Bickslow had jumped from their seats the second Laxus entered the room, but they just arrived by his side. The group now complete, the four mages walked off, leaving Juvia to wonder about the mess she got herself into.  
  


* * *

  
At around two, Juvia was back at the guild, a packed suitcase sitting beside her place at the table she was sitting at. When she got to the guild and sat down, she had planned just to sit and quietly wait for Laxus and the others to arrive. She even brought a little book on elemental magic along for the ride. Unfortunately, a certain iron dragon slayer had other ideas.  
  
"Oi, Juvia! Why do ya have a packed bag with ya? You goin' somewhere?" Gajeel inquired, leaning over the table and resting his elbows on the table side across from Juvia.  
  
"Um, well, the thing is... I ah, I... I'mgoingonamissionwithLaxusandtheThunderGodTribe," Juvia rushed.  
  
"Yer what?"  
  
Juvia nervously cleared her throat. "I said, I am going on a mission with Laxus and the Thunder God Tribe. It's going to be a few days, so I made sure to pack enough for the trip."  
  
Gajeel stared at her for a few moments, his expression stone cold. His hands clenched the top of the chair in front of him so hard that it snapped under the pressure.  
  
In a low voice, he growled, "You are doing _what_?"  
  
Juvia held her chin up high with confidence and stated, "You heard me."  
  
Gajeel stumbled back like he had been slapped. When he recovered, his head whipped back towards Juvia, and she knew that he was furious with her. Storming up to her, he pointed his finger at her and began ranting.  
  
"So, yer goin' on a long trip with people that disliked ya from the beginning, to a faraway town, and ya didn't ask me if it was okay before ya agreed!" Gajeel heatedly ranted, his voice reaching a loud volume.  
  
"I don't see why I have to ask your permission. You're not my mother," Juvia pouted, a hint of rebelliousness laced into her voice.  
  
"Juvia, I'm concerned for ya! Yer goin' off with people ya _barely_ know to a place you _don't_ know, and ya didn't even talk tah me about it!" Gajeel was nearly screeching at Juvia by this point.  
  
Before Juvia could respond, another person spoke up for her. "She is going with _us_. _She_ chose to go with us. _She_ agreed to go with us. If _She_ didn't want to go, _She_ would've said so. You aren't her parent and _certainly_ aren't her boyfriend, so you don't have any right to tell her what she can and can't do," Laxus calmly interjected.  
  
Silence rang out in the guild hall, but it was obvious that Gajeel was furious. "Why ya little punk, ya wanna fight me? Juvia's my _best friend_ and she-"  
  
"Juvia," Laxus interrupted, "Do you have all of your things?"  
  
"H-hai."  
  
"Good. We should probably leave now if we want to catch the next train. See ya later, Metal Head."  
  
Laxus waved over his shoulder and walked away, leaving behind a flustered and angry Gajeel. Laxus grabbed Juvia's bags before heading out the door, leaving the girl stranded and confused. When she regained her senses, Laxus was already halfway to the train station. Poor Juvia had to run to catch up to Laxus.


	9. The Unknown

All the way to the train station, Laxus remained silent. Ask him how his day's been going? Nothing would be said in response. Ask him about the mission? Silence is the only thing heard. Yell in his face? No response from him. Nothing would work with him! He was really starting to grate on Juvia's nerves. Just as she was getting ready to send an attack towards him in hopes of doing something that would get his attention, Laxus abruptly stopped. Juvia ran into his back and was immediately irritated at the lack of a warning from the oddly behaving blonde.

"Hey! What was that for-" Juvia began.  
  
"We're at the train station," Laxus stated, dropping Juvia's bag on the ground with a loud _thud_  and a few rattles from the inside.  
  
"Don't just throw it down! It has breakable things in it!"  
  
"Why would you have breakable things? All you need is a few clothes and your toothbrush."  
  
"W-well, I always like to be prepa-"  
  
"Laxus!"  
  
Juvia and Laxus turned around, only to see the Thunder God Tribe. Before they had a chance to react, Laxus was tackled by his three followers in a bone-crushing hug. "We missed you, Laxus!" the Tribe yelled, overjoyed at seeing their leader.  
  
"Tch. You guys saw me less than an hour ago."  
  
"But Laxus! It's like an eternity when we're not graced by your presence," Freed dramatically exclaimed, placing his hand on his heart.  
  
"Eh? What are you guys? Three? It's pathetic that you can't survive one hour without me."  
  
"You're our god, our thunder god, of course we wish to be near you at all times-"  
  
Juvia broke out into a hearty laugh, clutching her stomach and bending over. She laughed so hard that a few tears leaked out of her eyes. The Thunder God Tribe stared at Juvia, confusion written on their faces; however, Laxus knew exactly why Juvia's reaction was that.  
  
"What's so funny?" Freed asked, clearly confused and a little hurt by the sudden outburst.  
  
"It's j-just that - Bwahahaha! You guys are hilarious!" Juvia gasped in between laughs, struggling to form coherent words.  
  
Everyone stared at Juvia in silence with their mouths open. They were not used to someone openly teasing them about their odd dynamics, least of all the girl that was exactly like them just a few weeks before. After a minute of two of silence, Evergreen cleared her throat, determined to break the awkward silence that had surrounded them.

"Since we have about an hour until the train leaves, why don't we all part ways and get some food? It's going to be a while before we have another full meal," Evergreen suggested, adjusting her glasses just a smidgen.  
  
"I'll go with Laxus!" Freed yelled, attaching himself to the lightning mage's arm and earning a surprised grunt from the said blonde.  
  
"N-now wait just a minute-"  
  
"If you're going with Laxus, then I am too!" Evergreen stated, attaching herself to Laxus' other arm.  
  
"Hey-"  
  
"I wanna go too!" Bickslow pouted, grabbing Laxus' legs like a small child.  
  
"Stop it, all three of you! I'm going to be _alone_ for the next hour, and none of you are gonna go with me. Don't even think about following me, either. Are we clear?" Laxus yelled, frustrated at the trio of bumbling, lovable idiots.  
  
All three of them pouted, but nodded their heads and reluctantly let go of Laxus. After some debate, the three of them left together, as "the Thunder God Tribe is always together!"

Laxus turned around to face Juvia, who was silently laughing. Tears were streaming down her face from trying so hard not to interrupt the quality entertainment with her laughs. When her laughter finally died down, another awkward silence came upon them. Laxus scratched the back of his neck, unsure of what to say to her.

"I, uh, guess we'll meet back here in an hour, okay? Um, great. Bye," he stuttered, quickly walking off, determined to get away from the awkward situation at hand.  
  
 _Well, they aren't so bad or hateful after all. In fact, they're kinda cute, especially- Oh no, don't go that way. That thinking won't help._  
  
A loud growl interrupted her thoughts, causing her to look down at her stomach and giggle at it.  
  
 _Okay, I get the picture, my impatient stomach. Let's go get some food now._

  
Juvia walked around, unsure of where to go for lunch. After about ten minutes of searching, she finally found a little café that had some decent-looking food. After a little while of careful consideration, Juvia chose a delicious soup as her main dish. She had planned on getting some dessert, but when she looked at a clock on the wall, she realized that she needed to go to the meeting place so she could get there on time. Panting, she made it back to the platform right as the train conductor stated that the train was leaving in five minutes.

"There you are," Evergreen said crossing her arms over her chest. "We were wondering if you'd get here on time."  
  
"I am here now," Juvia replied, her voice still a little wheezy.  
  
Evergreen nodded her head in acknowledgement. When the conductor yelled at everyone to get on, crowds quickly flooded the entrances of the train. Laxus was able to squeeze past the crowds and onto the train first, mostly because people would tend to give a big, muscular guy like him whatever he likes since he could squash some of them with little more than a flick of his wrist. Bickslow was next, using his given creepiness to get through the crowds. Evergreen and Freed squeezed through after him, desperately trying to catch up with their leader. Juvia was able to get on last, seeing as she lost track of the others. She finally found everyone seated and took her place beside them.  
  
Not even a minute later, an elderly lady stood in front of Freed, clutching her hand bag in front of her torso. "Excuse me, young sir. I'm afraid that you are sitting in my seat," the elderly woman stated, holding out her ticket for him to see.  
  
"Eh?" Freed questioned, staring at the ticket with a confused expression.  
  
Evergreen looked at Freed's ticket and coyly snickered, "Hey, looks like she's right. Guess you're going to sit away from Laxus, Freed."  
  
Freed stuttered, "I- you- we..."  
  
Clumsily, he got out all five of their tickets and studied them carefully. Just when things began to calm down, he jumped up, pointed at Evergreen and Bickslow, yelling, "Aha! Your tickets are in the same room as mine! Guess none of us get to sit by Laxus..."  
  
Freed trailed off, contemplating the though; then, he started screaming. The elder lady went as fast as she could to the wall and grabbed the telephone. Dialing the number on display right beside the telephone, she spoke, "Conductor? Hello. There's a wild child screaming in here. You'll come and help? Okay. Thank you kindly, sir."  
  
Evergreen and Bickslow grabbed Freed's arms, trying to hold him back from thrashing around too much. Soon enough, the conductor opened the train car's door and  paced in, worry evident on his face.  
  
"I refuse not to sit with him!" Freed yelled, being held back by his two companions.  
  
"I'm sorry sir," the conductor replied, careful with his wording, "But if you won't sit where your ticket has you, I'm afraid that you won't be able to ride this train."  
  
Freed appeared outraged and began drawing a magic circle, only to be distracted by Evergreen yelling, "Freed, think for a moment. If you don't ride on this train, you won't be able to go on a mission with Laxus!"  
  
Freed froze when he heard that. Slowly, he lowered his arms and put an end to the half-formed magic circle. With great reluctance, the Thunder God Tribe trudged to a different train compartment, their heads hanging low in a sort of pout. Juvia snickered at them, but quickly shut up when Laxus said, "Hey, you should probably sit in your assigned seat."  
  
"Eh?"  
  
Looking at her ticket, she was indeed sitting in the wrong seat. Blushing, she looked at the numbers on each of the seats until she found the one with her number on it, which happened to be the one right beside Laxus. "Um, Laxus? My assigned seat is that window seat beside you," she informed, pointing at her seat.

"Well? Climb over me," he replied.

Hesitantly, she climbed over him, her leg awkwardly bumping his knee (and her bottom situated to give him a very nice sight a few inches from his face). Sitting down beside him and folding her hands, she twiddled her thumbs while looking at the floor. Before Laxus had a chance to make a snarky comment about her bashful actions, the train lurched and took off from the station. Juvia stared outside the window and watched as Magnolia faded from sight as the train headed towards the unknown.


	10. The Mysterious Lady

Out of everything Juvia expected to happen on the train ride, _Laxus_ getting _sick_ was not something she expected. Who knew that Laxus had motion sickness? She knew that all dragon slayers who were trained by dragons had the problem, but it never occurred to her that dragon slayers who only had the lacrima implanted in them could have that problem too. Juvia could only giggle at the mighty Laxus groaning while curling into a little ball to soothe his immense pain. Even though he was in pain, Juvia still noticed the way his silky blonde hair shined in the light and the way his muscles rippled deliciously under his tight shirt.  
  
 _Laxus and I are here all by ourselves. Alone..._  
  
Juvia held her face as it turned maroon at that thought.  
  
 _Just when I thought I was done thinking like this..._  
  


* * *

  
About an hour into the train ride, Juvia heard Laxus snoring. Looking at him, she felt a soft smile spread across her face.  
  
 _He's always so busy acting like a tough guy, but even he has a sweet side._  
  
Juvia observed Laxus, looking at the way his fluffy coat covered him in a nice warm blanket and how his hair _swooshed_ around with the movements of the train. It looked so soft, she could not keep her eyes off of it.  
  
 _I wonder, what would his hair feel like...?_  
  
Subconsciously, Juvia's hands reached for Laxus' head and ran their fingers through his golden locks, happy to know that her suspicions about its silky-smooth softness was correct. Juvia continued to run her fingers through Laxus' hair, thoroughly enjoying it.  
  
 _Wait... Why am I doing this?_  
  
 _I'm just doing this so that his motion sickness will be easier to bear!_  
  
 _Since when did I start caring about his comfort?_  
  
 _Because... because I don't want him to be grumpy! And he's in our guild, so..._  
  
 _Right._  
  
Ending her inner battle, Juvia started humming a soft lullaby. Soon after, the train stated to... _vibrate_? The vibrations from the train soon became extremely powerful, until Juvia decided that she must know why it was vibrating so much. When she looked down at Laxus, she realized that his chest was rising and falling at the same times of the vibrations.  
  
 _I-it's Laxus??!!_ _Is it even possible for someone to... **purr**? I mean, he IS a dragon slayer, but how would his artificial powers enable him to purr?_  
  
As soon as that thought crossed her mind, a very loud purr ripped through the room, causing Juvia to giggle.  
  
 _Apparently, it IS possible for an artificial dragon slayer to purr._  
  
When she looked closely at Laxus, he seemed content as she stroked his hair and hummed a soft song. What Juvia failed to notice where the three figures staring in the doorway, whispering to each other.  
  
 **"Why is she doing that?"** a voice whispered to its companions, confusion evident in its sound. (A/N: All words in bold are what the three not-so-mysterious onlookers are saying to each other.)  
  
 **"Isn't it obvious, baka?"** a slighly more mature sounding voice said, scolding the other voice.  
  
 **"What's obvious?"** the confused voice questioned.  
  
 **"She liiiiikes him,"** a third voice teased, an odd, creepy voice.  
  
 **"What do you mean by that?!"** the confused voice panicked.  
  
 **"Juvia has the hots for Laxus!"** the creepy voice teased, snickering at its statement.  
  
The confused voice became angry and began furiously whispering,  **"What? No! I refuse to accept that we could lose OUR Laxus to some-"**  
  
 **"Shut up, both of you idiots! Do you want to get caught?"** the mature voice ordered.  
  
 **"Our precious Laxus will not be tainted-"**  
  
 **"'Our PRECIOUS Laxus?' What are you? Three?"** At that question, the mature voice paused. **"Wow. Laxus was right."**  
  
 **"What are you insinuating by that comment? Laxus is _always_ right!"** the confused and angry voice responded.  
  
 **"Why do I even bother with you two morons?"** the mature voice sighed.  
  
 **"Because you liiiike us,"** the creepy voice pestered, jabbing the person with the mature voice.  
  
 **"Shut up, Bickslow. Look, Juvia's looking at us! I think she spotted us! Quick! Go back to your seats,"** the mature voice commanded.  
  
 **"We have to make sure that Laxus will be alright-"**  
  
"NOW, Freed."  
  
Juvia stopped what she was doing and turned toward the train car's door, curious about the odd voices she was hearing. Only bits and pieces of the conversation could be understood, but it was enough to make her confused. When she saw nothing at the train car's door, she shrugged and turned around when she saw nothing.  
  
 _That was odd. I was sure that there were a few people there, talking about Laxus and me..._  
  
Suddenly, a whimpering noise erupted from Juvia's lap, snapping her out of her thoughts. The noise came from Laxus, who was complaining in his sleep. Unsure of what to do, Juvia hesitantly continued petting him again, causing the purring to begin once more. Juvia rolled her eyes in fond teasing, smiling at the sleeping form.  
  
 _Big baby._  
  


* * *

  
At one point during the train ride, Juvia heard someone clear their throat and looked towards the sound. An elderly lady across the shared table had her fist in front of her mouth and slowly lowered it, smiling at Juvia. Juvia remembered a few seconds afterwards that it was the same lady who told Freed and the others that they had the wrong seats. "Excuse me, young miss. I don't mean to pry, but is this young man... _yours_?" the elderly lady coyly asked.  
  
Juvia felt a blush come on as shock etched itself across her face. "Ah-ah... No. No, he's not m-my... _man_ ," Juvia responded.  
  
The elderly lady raised her eyebrow at Juvia's statement. After a moment, the lady stated, "I don't know what you think is normal, but you being happy in this situation means _something_ is going on."  
  
Juvia was startled at the lady's remark, but eventually recovered. "I'm not _that_ happy! I was just helping him because we're going on a mission together and he's a dragon slayer, meaning that he has motion sickness and I wanted to make it better for him so that he wouldn't be upset when we got off the train-" Juvia rambled.  
  
The woman put her ginger pointing straight up in front of Juvia's face. "Shh, it's alright child. I was only teasing you," the old woman replied, winking at Juvia. "However, there is some truth to my teasing."  
  
When Juvia gave the woman a confused look, she sighed as she lowered her hand and clasped it with the other. "What I mean is that you two obviously have _some_ romantic potential. After all, he's lightning and you're water - together, they make a storm.."  
  
The woman put her hand up with one finger pointing towards the ceiling and shook her hand back and forth. "So be careful with this one. When water and lightning join together in the right way, they can create a storm so powerful and beautiful, able to give life. However, if they do not join in the right way, destruction will follow, and the lightning will scar the water, leaving the water unable to combine with anything. The electricity in the ripples will forever haunt it."  
  
The lady took a long breath and innocently smiled. "But I'm just a rambling, old lady, so don't mind me."  
  
With that, the lady smiled once more before getting up and starting to walk towards the train car's door.  
  
"A-ano, miss, what did you mean by all of that?" Juvia questioned.  
  
The woman slowly turned around and smiled softly at Juvia, slowly putting one finger over her lips. Without uttering a word, she turned back around and continued walking. The lady never did come back to her seat.  
  



	11. Womanizer

Juvia opened up her eyes to see the ceiling. When she looked towards the window, she noticed the train wasn't moving and everyone was gathering their things.  
  
 _How did I end up on the floor?_  
  
"Alright, end of the line! Everyone off!" the conductor yelled.  
  
 _Oh, I must have been napping and been jolted off my seat when the train stopped._  
  
"Wh... what? Huh? Where am I?" a deep voice boomed, obviously jolted awake from the train's abrupt stop.  
  
Juvia looked towards the voice and realized that it was Laxus. Chuckling to herself, Juvia stood up and walked back to her seat, gathering her things into her carry-on bag. A sharp pain struck through Juvia, causing her to clutch her head and groan. After she composed herself, Juvia looked back up at Laxus, only to see him staring blankly ahead at the wall. "Laxus," Juvia started, gaining said man's attention. "We are here. Pack your things, we need to get off. Conductor's orders. Or do you want to be stuck on the train for a longer time?"  
  
Laxus wearily eyed Juvia, but eventually complied and grabbed his few items.  
  
"What happened on the train? I was sick, as I normally would be, and then I remember something... soft under my head. Did you put a pillow under my head or somethin' like that?" Laxus groggily questioned, looking apprehensively at Juvia.  
  
"W-what do you... oh, ah... yes! A pillow! I put a p-pillow under your head. Heh heh..." Juvia stuttered.  
  
Laxus raised a suspicious eyebrow, but spoke just a short "whatever" in reply. Juvia grabbed her packed bag and hurried out of the train car, desperately trying to get out of the train. Begrudgingly, Laxus stumbled off the train and grabbed his stomach, leaning over as if he as going to hurl. "Uggggh. Note to self: no trains. _Ever. Again_ ," Laxus groaned.  
  
"LAXUS!"  
  
Suddenly, Laxus found himself bombarded by his three friends. "We missed you!" Freed and Bickslow shouted, each clinging to an arm on Laxus. Evergreen strutted up to Laxus and pointed at him, an evil glint in her eyes. "Laxus! _Never, EVER,_ leave me alone with those two idiots again. It was torture!" she dramatically yelled, fake tears coming out of her eyes.  
  
Flinching at Evergreen's volume, Laxus sighed, knowing his blissful moments away from his three idiotic friends were now gone. Juvia stood awkwardly to the side, unsure of how to act.  
  
 _Maybe I should ask them how their ride was... No, that would seem too awkward. Maybe I could-_  
  
Juvia's thoughts were interrupted when a short, fat man came bounding towards them. "Hey! You're Fairy Tail mages, right?" the fat man asked.  
  
"Yeah. And you are?" Laxus rudely responded.  
  
"I am the mayor. I was the one who posted the mission. Now, introduce yourselves, if you would," the mayor answered, twiddling his thumbs together.  
  
"I am Freed. It's a pleasure to meet you."  
  
"Wassup! Name's Bickslow, don't wear it out."  
  
"I am the beautiful fairy... Evergreen!"  
  
"Tch. Laxus."  
  
Before Juvia could introduce herself, the man grasped her hand and gently kissed the top of it, bowing in front of her. "And who might you be, my fair maiden?" the mayor smoothly inquired, petting the top of her hand.  
  
"I-I am Juvia Lockser of Fairy Tail. Well... I'm obviously a member of Fairy Tail, you, ah, already knew that, heh heh..."  
  
"Well, _Juvia_ , it's certainly a pleasure to meet you," the mayor replied.  
  
After quickly eyeing Laxus down, the mayor turned towards Juvia and proposed, "Well, my _dear_ Juvia, tell me a little bit about yourself! Maybe over a nice meal..."  
  
Linking arms with Juvia, the mayor started walking away from the station. Suddenly, Laxus went up to them and linked his arm with Juvia's other arm, dragging her towards him. "A meal sounds great. You're payin', I assume," Laxus nonchalantly commented, trying to appear indifferent.  
  
The mayor grinned. "Yes. Follow me!" he cheered. Leading everyone down the streets of the nice-sized town, the mayor bragged about this or that at their "humble abode" that was amazing. Stopping in front of a small café, the mayor announced, "Here we are! The finest café in all of Treecap, if I do say so myself. In fact, this place has won the award for best restaurant for over ten years in a row! I'm sure you'll all find it most delicious."  
  
With that being said, the group walked inside, eager to try the food. When they got in there, the receptionist smiled warmly when she noticed the mayor and even gave him a hug. "Hello Geoffry! I see you've caught yourself another beautiful young woman. Do you want your regular table for two?" the receptionist asked.  
  
The mayor dramatically sighed. "I'm afraid not, Petunia. The four mages behind us are also in my group, sadly. A six person table, please," the mayor replied.  
  
Shaking her head, the receptionist sighed. "Maybe next time, womanizer," she replied, winking at the mayor.  
  
Grabbing six silverware sets, Petunia led them to a table. After they sat down, Petunia left, only for another girl to walk up to them. "Hello. Ah! Geoffry! What a pleasure it is to see you here!" the waitress sparkled, also going over to him and hugging him.  
  
"It's all my pleasure, Hope," he replied.  
  
"Thank you," she responded, slightly giggling. Turning towards everyone else, she spoke, "As you just heard, my name is Hope. I will be your server today at Lily's Café. What can I get everyone to drink?"  
  
After everyone put in their orders, Hope walked away. "Oi, Old Man, where are the menus?" Laxus gruffly asked.  
  
"Menus? Oh no, this restaurant has a different meal each night and that meal is never offered again. So every day, it's a surprise. Just one of the many hidden perks of our small town." Folding his hands, the mayor continued, "Now, for your mission. Every year, our town of Treecap holds a festival. We normally have a fantastic show to start off the week-long festival with a bang. The organizer for several years now has also been the star of the whole festival, being dressed as a mermaid. Mermaids... they were her favorite."  
  
Pausing, the mayor took in a deep breath, closing his eyes for a short moment. He then pulled out the mission advertisement, laying it on the table so everyone could see it. "The woman I mentioned earlier... died last year," the mayor stated, his eyes glossed over. "In honor of her, I want this festival to be beyond spectacular. That is why I wanted to hire a group of mages with a water mage being the mermaid. Based on style, I assume the water mage is you, my dear Juvia?"  
  
"Yes," Juvia confirmed.  
  
"Excellent! Since the festival starts in four days, tomorrow will be your day of relaxation. Go to the spa, check out the town, discover things, and wind down a bit so that you can be good and rested for the preparations. The day after, I will meet you all in the lobby to give you your assignments."  
  
"So what about us, Old Man?" Laxus questioned.  
  
"You four will be the main organizers and executioners of the festival. Juvia is the centerpiece of the whole festival, but you four must keep the festival running."  
  
Before anything else could be said, the food arrived. "Finally, the food! Dig in, everyone!"  
  
Everything was delicious. From the grand appetizer to the exquisite main courses to the decadent dessert, everyone felt stuffed once they finished eating everything. After a few moments of getting used to the feeling of being stuffed, the mayor stood up at the table and announced, " Remember, tomorrow is a day to relax and explore the town, so enjoy it. After that, we have a lot of preparations to take care of! Follow me, I will show you where you will be staying."  
  
"Wait," Laxus spoke. "Aren't you gonna pay the bill? Surely being mayor don't mean you get off scotch free."  
  
The mayor looked up at Laxus with a sad look before smiling softly. "I recently obtained ownership of this quaint restaurant. However, I always send money for all the waitresses as an extra tip. That's what _she_... that's what the previous owner always did," the mayor softly spoke, a faraway look in his eyes as a little mist covered his irises.  
  
After about a two minute walk, the mayor stood in front of a quaint little hotel and clasped his hands behind his back. "It's nice how close this is to that café and to the center of town. Anyway, here are the keys to your rooms. Enjoy your stay!" With that, the mayor turned around and started walking down the street.  
  
Laxus turned towards Juvia and casually said, "Here's your key. Meet at breakfast tomorrow to talk 'bout what we're gonna do. Evergreen's roomin' with you."  
  
"Thank you," Juvia politely responded. "Good night."  
  
"'Night."  
  
Trudging up the stairs, Juvia managed to get inside her hotel room, only struggling to get the door to open with the old key for a little while. She stumbled in, slamming the door behind her and quickly taking in the room's appearance. It was small, but not cramped, and everything was clean and neatly organized. A few lacrimas were on a shelf, there in case someone wanted to watch something. It was quaint, just like the rest of the town. Taking off her jacket and shoes, she collapsed into her bed, exhausted from the day. She tried to get up and properly get ready for bed, but she ended up drifting off into a deep sleep within seconds of falling on her bed.


	12. A Calm Morning

Juvia awoke to a blinding light. Her initial instinct was to cover her eyes with her arm, but she quickly readjusted to the light and smiled briefly at it.  
  
 _Awake already, my sun? Then again, you never were one for waiting to shine._  
  
Yawning, Juvia stretched out her arms and sat up. After throwing off her covers, she got off of her bed and made her way towards the miniature balcony that was attached to her room. Sliding back the glass door, Juvia walked onto the balcony, observing the people going through their daily lives.  
  
 _Oh, wow! Isn't today just breathtaking? I could get used to a view like this..._  
  
Breathing in the fresh air, Juvia opened her arms and enjoyed the soft breeze. Exhaling, Juvia walked back inside and changed. She now wore a white spaghetti strap dress ending just below the knees. A light blue ribbon ran across the front of the dress, ending in a bow on her back. Completing the look was a silk scarf draped across her arms and a blue butterfly hair clip pinning her bangs back.  
  
Satisfied with her appearance, Juvia started taking a good look at her room. However, something seemed to be a bit off.  
  
 _There are TWO beds?!?!_  
  
Juvia squealed.  
  
 _What is in the other bed?! W-wait, it's "who," not "what." Heh heh, I knew that..._  
  
Unfortunately, Juvia's squeal woke the sleeping figure.  
  
"Juvia, some of us need some *yawn* more beauty sleep than you. What are you doing up so early, anyway?" Evergreen groaned, shielding her eyes from the blinding light.  
  
 _Oh, it's just Evergreen. Phew. Wait, didn't Laxus say we were rooming together? Aha, I must have been too sleepy..._  
  
"O-oh, I'm sorry," Juvia replied. "I just didn't see you there and then I noticed there was _another person_ in the room and I started freaking out and-"  
  
Evergreen cut Juvia off. "Okay, okay, I get it. Could you go back to sleep for a little while longer? Then we all can get breakfast and decide what we're going to do with our free day."  
  
"Ano, e-everyone? That is... all of us, meaning you, the three boys, and myself... doing something, _together_?" Juvia meekly asked.  
  
"Of course! What, did you think we were just going to go our separate ways, not even bothering to tell you?"  
  
Juvia bashfully looked away, refusing to meet Evergreen's gaze.  
  
"W-well..." Juvia stuttered. "I j-just assumed that since you all are normally a group and I'm not, you guys wouldn't really... um..."

An awkward silence filled the room. Juvia twiddled her thumbs, but Evergreen just shot her a questioning look. "You just thought what?" Evergreen probed.  
  
"...Want to be around me?" Juvia quietly answered, leaning into herbody and wrapping her arms around her torso.  
  
Evergreen seemed shocked, and her mouth gaped. Her eyes clinched together, and she took in a painful breath. "Juvia, do you really think that of us?" Evergreen questioned.  
  
"N-no! I don't think any of you are mean or bad, I just... I figured that you guys..." Juvia trailed off.  
  
"That we what?"  
  
"That you, ah... well, that..."  
  
Evergreen put her hands on her hips and huffed, " _Well,_ what?"  
  
"W-well... you see... I... I-I'm hungry and want to see want breakfast places they have. I'll see you later!" Juvia hurriedly announced.  
  
Opening the door, Juvia made her swift exit.  
  


\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  


Once Juvia was outside the hotel, she let out a shaky breath.  
  
 _Well, that was awkward...  
  
You think?  
  
Oh, why did I go and say all those things?! Now they for sure won't like me... How badly did I mess that up?  
  
Well-  
  
Never mind, don't answer that._  
  
Ending her internal debate, Juvia looked around the town. She started walking through the town, trying to find somewhere to eat. When she found a cute little place with a decent looking menu, she went inside.  
  
"Welcome to the Kismet Diner! How are you today, miss?" a friendly looking man proclaimed.  
  
"I am doing fine. Thank you for asking!" Juvia replied.  
  
"That's always a nice thing to hear. My name is John, by the way. What's yours?" John questioned.  
  
"Oh, how rude of me! My name is Juvia. Pleased to meet you."  
  
"Likewise. Oh! I, um... you may sit wherever you like. I forget to mention that to the customers most of the time," John sheepishly admitted.  
  
Sitting down at a barstool, Juvia folded her hands in her lap. John walked towards Juvia and got out his notepad and pen, ready to take her order.  
  
"I'll take over here with the beautiful young lady, John," the cook spoke, her rich voice resonating throughout the diner.  
  
Nodding his head, John walked away from the two women.  
  
"Um," Juvia started. "What would you suggest I get? I'm afraid I don't know what to order."  
  
Laughing, the cook sweetly smiled with mirth in her eyes.  
  
"That's okay, I won't bother you for being new here. As for what to order, that's up to you. After all, you are the paying customer," the cook responded, winking mischievously at Juvia.  
  
After thinking for a moment, Juvia decided. "How about you choose? I know that I can trust the cook's decisions," Juvia replied, winking back at the cook.  
  
As soon as Juvia responded, the cook got to work. She ran up and down the kitchen, grabbing this or that along the way. When she had everything she needed, she began cooking on the little stove in front of Juvia's stool.  
  
"So, where are you from, sweetheart? I have never seen you before. Besides, shouldn't you be in a big city? You could make a fortune as a model," the cook spoke.  
  
"T-thank you," Juvia gushed. "And yes, I am from out of town. I live in Magnolia. Have you ever heard of Fairy Tail?"  
  
The cook snorted. "Who hasn't heard of that rowdy crew?"  
  
Juvia chuckled. "I'm from that guild."  
  
"Ah, that explains everything. A beautiful, strong woman such as yourself would fit right in with the other cute girls. But why are you in this town? Surely not as a tourist."  
  
"I'm actually here for the festival. The mayor of this town sent out a mission for some mages to help with it."  
  
"Really now? What are you doing in the festival?"  
  
"I believe I am going to be the mermaid. I'm not quite sure what that implies as far as what I must do..."  
  
"Well, you're certainly deserving of that spot. You deserve all the attention in the world."  
  
Juvia blushed and was about to reply when the cook lifted a plate above her head.  
  
"It's done~ I hope you enjoy it."  
  
It was a golden omelet, overflowing with ingredients and so mouthwatering Juvia was sure she'd turn into a puddle. Satisfied with Juvia's reaction, the cook turned around and sauntered to a different place, beginning to cook another person's order. With that, Juvia dug into the delicious omelette.  
  
When Juvia was finished, the cook came back to get her plate. "So, was trusting the cook a good decision?" the cook teased.  
  
"Oh, yes. I'm sure I won't be walking for a day or two, with the amount of food I just ate," Juvia chuckled, contently patting her stomach.  
  
The cook laughed, a crystal sound coming from her throat. "Well, come back any time you like, Juvia," the cook responded, leaving the check at Juvia's table.  
  
Juvia read the check and left the required amount of jewels, giving a large bonus for the kind staff. At the bottom of the check was a note written in pink ink and swirly letters.  
  
"Call me anytime you want, my beautiful Juvia -xoxo ___-___-___"  
  
Juvia chuckled at the note, stood up, and walked out of the café. While strolling around town, she heard a clock strike ten times.  
  
 _It's ten already? I must have spent a lot of time talking to that beautiful woman._  
  
After strolling around the town for a while, Juvia ran across a shop painted in dark purples and blacks. "Magical Mages, Mysterious Magic," Juvia read aloud.  
  
 _I wonder, what will this store be like? With that title, I'm sure to find some interesting things in there._  
  
Leisurely, Juvia strolled into the store.


	13. Not-So-Bad Day

When Juvia entered the magic store, she was shocked. Lining the walls were bookcases, filled to the brim with books of various shapes and colors. She was in awe.  
  
 _I bet Levy could be in here for years in order to read everything. Even Lucy would be entertained here for quite some time..._  
  
With that thought, determination coursed through her veins as she strolled up to all the books. However, a certain book caught her eye in the far corner of the room.  
  
"Why would anyone create a book called "Secret Passage"? Surely the author would have the decency to put the word "the" in front of it," Juvia mumbled, oblivious to the book's true meaning.  
  
Just as she was about to grab hold of the odd book, a hand grabbed hers and spun her around.  
  
"Hello! My name is Matilda," a sweet old lady spoke, introducing herself to Juvia. She seemed very familiar, but Juvia could not place how she knew the elderly woman.  
  
"O-oh, hello. My name is Juvia Lockser and I'm from the guild Fairy Tail. I wasn't intruding, was I?" Juvia questioned.  
  
"Oh, not at all. I hardly ever get visitors here, so I am quite glad that you decided to visit lonely old me," Matilda replied. "Anyhow, I see you have an eye for literature. However, I don't suggest that book. As you can see from the title, that author has no sense of proper word usage and it is very hard to understand what she means. I don't know why that book is even out here."  
  
Putting a hand behind Juvia's back, Matilda used her other hand to gesture at a different section of the store.  
  
"Let me show you around, young lady. I love having visitors in my quaint, little store."  
  
"O-okay."  
  
Gently, Matilda guided Juvia around the bookstore, stopping every once in a while to talk about a book that she thought Juvia might like.  
  
"Oh goodness, I must be boring you to death with all this talk of books. Would you like some cookies? They're freshly made," Matilda offered, gesturing to a plate of cookies on the cashier's counter. Meekly, Juvia nodded. Matilda walked her over to the counter.  
  
"Let me go get some milk for you sweetheart," Matilda suggested, walking into the employee only room. A few seconds later, Matilda came back with a nice cup of milk and handed it to Juvia.  
  
"So, tell me, what brings you to a small bookstore like this?" Matilda asked.  
  
"Well, I have a few friends who love reading and I want to get them a few gifts," Juvia replied.  
  
"Awww, isn't that adorable? You're such a sweetheart," Matilda crooned.  
  
Juvia blushed and stuttered, "T-hank you. Really, it's not that amazing of a thing to do. I've been an awful friend to them for so long, I don't deserve to call them my friends. I ignored them and even when they offered me friendship I scared them away because of my creepy obsession and-"  
  
"Juvia, I'm sure you're a wonderful friend. Besides, friends look past the flaws and so-called "creepy" obsessions, because that's what true friends do. If I've heard right, your guild, Fairy Tail, is always talking about how you're all family there, and family treats you even better than friends do. The people at your guild don't seem like the type to judge someone and abandon them just because they feel strongly and love fiercely."  
  
At this point, tears were slipping out of Juvia's eyes.  
  
"They really are amazing, it's just... I thought he was all I ever needed," Juvia spoke through the hiccups.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"Well, on Christmas Eve, Fairy Tail was having a huge party, like we normally do..." Juvia began, explaining her story.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------

"...And now I must be the mermaid in the festival," Juvia finished.  
  
"Well, your life is quite the adventure," Matilda chuckled. "I see now why you have such a low self-esteem. Don't worry. You will soon realize your own beauty, both physical and otherwise. May I offer you a bit of advice?"  
  
Hesitantly, Juvia nodded.  
  
"The best way to get over an old love is to find someone new. I know it can't be easy getting over someone you loved so hard for so long. So, find a new person. One that will respect you and your feelings. One that will love you, quirks and all. It will take some time to get over this Gray fellow, but it sounds like you have many friend to rely on."  
  
"Thank you," Juvia whispered.  
  
"It's no problem my dear," Matilda comforted, wiping the mist off of Juvia's cheeks. "Would you like it if I showed you around town? Our air-headed mayor is not the best tour guide," Matilda sighed, although her lips had an upwards curve to them.  
  
"A city tour sounds wonderful."  
  
With that, Matilda motioned Juvia toward the door and locked up her bookstore before turning around. "So, what would you like to see first?"  
  
"Um, anything is fine with me," Juvia replied.  
  
"Hm, what to see... Oh! I know the perfect place to show you," Matilda exclaimed, grabbing Juvia's hand and yanking her along.  
  
After a few minutes of running, Matilda abruptly stopped, causing Juvia to crash into her back and send them both tumbling down. Giggling, the two sat up and looked at each other. "Ah, how I have missed being a joyful youth, running about without worries," Matilda nostalgically sighed. "No matter. Look, we are here." Matilda pointed up, Juvia's eyes following the invisible line.  
  
"O-oh," Juvia spoke, clearly underwhelmed. "How... lovely."  
  
 _It's just a regular tree!_  
  
"Now-now, remember not to judge a book by its cover," Matilda playfully scolded. "This tree, like every other of its kind, will light up in rainbow colors once a year. However, there is a special lost magic that can make it gain its beautiful glow once more for however long the mage wishes. I can power it for about half the length of the festival, but... _s-she_ always powered the tree for the first part of the festival."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Lily. She was the mermaid of the festival," Matilda sighed, her eyes, becoming a little less bright.  
  
"Oh."  
  
Matilda's smile faded and her shoulders suddenly gained an invisible weight. She looked _old_. Silently, Juvia reached out and put her hand on Matilda's shoulder as a form of comfort. "Matilda," Juvia quietly began, "Why is the festival so important to everyone?"  
  
After a few long seconds, Matilda put her hand on Juvia's and spoke, "That is a story for another time, dear Juvia." After speaking this, Matilda brushed Juvia's hand off of her shoulder and smiled, her normal light-heated smile returning with the crinkles in her eyes and the mischievous glance. "So, I heard you aren't alone on this mission. Particularly, I heard of a cute blonde."  
  
Juvia immediately blushed. "W-we aren't dating!" Juvia yelled, her hands waving in front of her.  
  
"I never said you were. _You_ brought it up..." Matilda trailed off, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.  
  
"T-there is nothing going on between us!" Honestly, first that odd old woman and now you! Who's next-"  
  
"Wait," Matilda interrupted. "An odd old woman?"

 

"Yes, she used a very odd metaphor about storms for a relationship and made many jokes about him and me. She also wore a funny orange sundress that-"

 

"An orange sundress? Wh-" Matilda abruptly stopped her speech and sighed. "Nevermind, it's just an old woman's rambles." Her whole body drooped.

  
"Well, I am famished," Matilda stated, obviously trying to change to conversation. "Maybe we could have lunch together? It's well past noon."  
  
"Past noon?!" Juvia exclaimed, glancing at the town clock. "How time flies. Sadly, I am not that hungry. However, I would love to join you for a meal some other time."  
  
"Oh come now, there must be something I can do for you. We can eat together any time, but I want to give you _something_ ," Matilda insisted.  
  
"Oh, you really don't have to-"  
  
"I know!" Matilda cheered, snapping her finger. "I will give you the key."  
  
"The key to what?"  
  
"You'll see."  
  
Juvia began asking questions but Matilda would just smile and wink at Juvia. This routine went on all along their trip through the city. Finally, they arrived at their destination.  
  
"Your... bookstore?" Juvia inquired.  
  
Matilda ignored Juvia's question and strolled inside. Juvia followed her as far as she could, but Matilda passed into the employees only section. When she came out, Matilda had her hand behind her back. "Juvia," Matilda began, "Hold out your hands."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Just do it," Matilda chuckled.  
  
Hesitantly, Juvia held out her hands. "Shut your eyes."  
  
"H-hai."  
  
Something cold and solid pressed into Juvia's hands.  
  
"Now, open your eyes."  
  
When Juvia looked down, a small key was sitting snugly on her palms. "This is the key to my bookstore. Whenever you want, just come on in," Matilda explained.  
  
"O-oh, I can't accept this! Besides, I will only be in this town until the festival ends," Juvia protested.  
  
"I know. Nevertheless, I want you to have this as my gift to you. You may go anywhere you want in this store and read to your heart's content. If you show this key to any employee here, you will get everything half-off. Maybe you could buy some things with your reward money. Perhaps for a book-savvy friend or two?"  
  
 _There are a few people who I could use this for..._  
  
"A-alright. If you insist, I will take this," Juvia submitted.  
  
"Good. Now, run along dear. I have a few things I must do by myself now. And you have a certain blonde to get on your good side," Matilda teased.  
  
"H-hey!"  
  
Flustered, Juvia left the bookstore with a smile and a wave.  
  
 _This morning's incident made me believe that today was not going to be a good day, but them those kind men at the restaurant and Matilda have been so kind to me. Perhaps today will not be so bad after all..._  
  
Immersed in her thoughts, Juvia accidentally ran into someone. Her eyes widened as she saw who she ran into.  
  
"You okay there, Juvia? You seem a little spacey," a rough voice asked.  
  
 _I guess I spoke too soon..._


	14. Drunk Connections

“L-Laxus! What are you doing here?!” Juvia asked, her voice unnaturally high due to surprise.  
   
“Did you hit your head or something? We’re here ‘cause of the job we took,” Laxus replied.  
   
 _Because of the job **we** took?! W-what does he mean by- o_ _h wait, he means all five of us… heh, I knew that._  
   
“Ya know, if you keep on starin’ at me like that, people will start to ask questions,” Laxus teased, snapping Juvia out of her inner thoughts.  
   
Juvia waved her hands back and forth in front of her face and stammered, “Oh, I wasn’t staring at _you_ , I was just zoning out. N-not to say that it’d be bad to stare at you, I mean, you’re not ugly, I just-”  
   
“Relax. I’m just teasing ya a little bit.”  
   
Juvia immediately closed her mouth as a blush adorned her cheeks. When Laxus’ hands rested on her forearms, she flinched and pushed herself out of his grip, not noticing the look of confusion and hurt that flashed across his face. Realizing what she did, Juvia blurted, “S-sorry, I’m just a little jumpy because you scared me…”  
   
“Hm.”  
   
Slowly, Laxus lowered his arms to his sides. He sent a perplexed look towards Juvia, but she was too busy staring at the ground to notice. Neither person said anything for a few minutes. “That street must be really attractive since you haven’t even looked up from it,” Laxus grumbled, a teasing smirk on his lips. Juvia’s head snapped up to look at him as she puffed her cheeks.  
   
“I-it’s certainly more attractive than you,” she responded, obviously embarrassed by the whole situation.  
   
Laxus barked loudly. “So you’ve got some fire in ya after all. I think I’m wounded by your words, Juvia _-chan_ ,” Laxus mocked.  
   
“I don’t have fire inside of me, I’m made of water! A-and don’t call me Juvia-chan!”  
   
“Wow, you’re acting so cold to me, Juvia _-chan_. What did I ever do to you?”  
   
“Stop it!”  
   
“Hey Freed, since they’re fighting so much, do ya think they’re gonna turn into a couple like Ever and Elfman?” Bickslow spoke as he stood on top of a building with two other figures.  
   
“Well, you know what they say: There’s a fine line between fighting and flirting,” Freed responded, a smirk adorning his face.  
   
“And just what do you mean by that comment about Elfman and me, Bickslow?!” Evergreen shouted.  
   
“Nothing, just that you two are in loooooooove~"  
   
“What are you three idiots doing here?” Laxus asked, glaring up at the trio on the roof. “I said that I was gonna look for Juvia while you three found something for us to do.”  
  
“Well, we knew that with your dragon nose, you’d find her in no time. We were afraid that if we left you two alone for too long that Master would become a great-grandfather,” Evergreen pestered, a mischievous glint on her glasses. However, she had a strange look on her face when she looked at Juvia, but it was just a fleeting expression. Laxus’ face turned red and Juvia nearly melted into a puddle at that statement.  
   
“Besides, we would never abandon you, Laxus!” Freed declared, putting his fist on his chest.  
   
“What am I ever going to do with you idiots?” Laxus muttered, shaking his head at the trio.  
   
“Besides, we still did find something to do. Apparently, there’s a big party a couple of blocks away from here and it just started,” Bickslow announced.  
   
“U-um, will there be alcohol there?” Juvia timidly asked, her fingers twiddling.  
   
“Heck yeah! Parties are lame if they don't have drinks. Why ya askin'?” he questioned.  
   
“W-well, just that… uh…” Juvia nervously trailed off.  
   
“C’mon Juvia, it’ll be fun!”  
   
“Oh, o-okay.”  
   
With that, the group left the small alley way. They passed by all sorts of shops and sites to see and Juvia kept a mental note of some of the more interesting things, like how every place had lilies. Soon enough, they passed by less and less shops and began walking beside houses with beautiful lilies adorning every walkway.  
   
 _Why are there so many lilies? There seems to be a patch of them at every turn..._  
   
Abruptly, Bickslow stopped, causing Freed to stop. Evergreen ran into Freed, Juvia ran into Bickslow, and Laxus ran into Juvia.  
   
 _Something is touching me down- JUBIN!_  
   
Laxus realized that when they stopped, his hand jerked forward and ended up resting on two soft mounds on the rear that _definitely_ were not meant to be touched right then. With flaming cheeks, he pulled away and stuttered, “S-sorry, Juvia. I didn’t mean to touch you it just happened-”  
   
“Oh, was Laxus coping a feel?” Bickslow mocked.  
   
“N-no!”  
   
“Not our precious Laxus!” Freed wailed dramatically, tears cascading down his face.  
   
“He’s not _our precious Laxus_ , Freed. And Laxus, I’m so disappointed in you. At least invite her to dinner before coping a feel!” Evergreen scolded.  
   
“I bet you wouldn’t mind if ~Elfman~  _accidentally_ grabbed you there,” Bickslow teased.  
   
“I-I would never! If he did that, he wouldn't even live to see another sunrise!"  
  
"Yeah, another sunrise without ya."  
  
"Why you-"  
   
Amidst all the bickering of the trio, Laxus stood beside Juvia and leaned down so that no one else would hear him. "Sorry 'bout that."  
   
“T-thank you. And it’s okay, I know you weren’t trying anything.”  
   
Laxus cleared his throat and glared at the arguing trio. When none of them noticed, he sent a jolt of electricity towards them. A collective “OW” came from the trio as they turned their attention towards Laxus and quit arguing. “Instead of sitting here and wasting our time arguing, how about we go to that party you talked about?” Laxus drawled, obviously bored out of his mind.  
   
With a few heads nodding in agreement, the group set out towards the party. Juvia trailed behind them, a hesitant shake in the way she walked. When they arrived at a large building with flashing lights, blaring music, laughter ringing everywhere, and people walking towards it in party clothes, they figured that they had found the party.  
   
“Alright, let’s party!” Bickslow cheered, fist pumping into the air before skipping into the building. Evergreen followed behind, sauntering and turning every man’s head. Freed ran after them, shouting “wait for me!” that became muddled with the other noises of the party, leaving Laxus and Juvia standing outside of the building. “You gonna go in?” Laxus asked, raising an eyebrow at Juvia.  
   
“W-well, I figured that you should go in f-first, since y-you’re... you, ‘y know?” she timidly replied.  
   
“Ladies first,” Laxus mocked, bowing at Juvia and gesturing at the door.  
   
“I-If that is so, you belong up front, Laxus.”  
   
“I am sure that I am a man,” Laxus growled, marching over to Juvia and towering above her. He bent down until his lips ghosted over her ears as he said, “If you want me to, I can prove to you just how much of a _man_ I am.”  
   
Juvia’s mind went into overdrive and she felt like she had short-circuited. When she finally gained her wits, she shakily countered, “Are y-you trying to be like Elfman? B-Because you're not doing a v-very good job at it.”  
   
Laxus looked her over skeptically before inching behind Juvia and pushing her into the building. When she turned around to try and escape, Laxus stood in the doorway, blocking her from freedom. “Well?” Laxus questioned. When she gave no response, he smirked and said, “That’s what I thought. Now, go out and party, Juvia.”  
   
With no choice in the matter, Juvia reluctantly turned around and stared at the nightmare that was this party. All around her, couples were making out along the walls and in the corners. Undoubtedly, all of the bedrooms were occupied by eager couples. The thought made her cringe. Multi-colored lights were flashing all around the room, lighting everyone as different shades when the colors changed. A large group of bodies were in the center of the main room, dancing to the upbeat music raging throughout the house. Some were jumping up and down, having fun with their group of friends. Other were grinding on each other, obviously desiring a specific situation to occur at the end of the night.  
   
 _This is madness._  
   
When she saw a seat, she moved towards it and sat on the stool. It was too late when she realized that she just sat at a bar.  
   
 _Maybe if I just ignore contact with everyone, no one will talk to me._  
   
Sadly, her hopes were crushed when the bartender seemingly appeared in front of her and put a mug of beer in front of her.  
   
“Here you go, sweetheart,” the bartender flirted, winking at her.  
   
 **“I never want to see you again! I hate you!”** (A/N: All the flashbacks are in bold.)  
   
“Oh, um… thank you, but I don’t drink,” Juvia replied, nudging the mug away from herself.  
   
“Oh, come on. It’s just one little drink, besides, you might want more once you’ve started. Your whole tab will be on me.”  
   
“N-no thank you.”  
   
The bartender shrugged and walked away while saying, “Okay, if you really wanna be a stiff, be my guest.”  
   
A drunk woman wrapped her arm around Juvia’s shoulders and giggled, barely able to hold the whiskey bottle in her hand. Everything ran in slow motion and turned into blurs of color and _alcohol_ and _drunk people_ and _get away!_  
   
 **"I don’t want to kiss a stalker! I don’t love you! I don’t even _like_ you like that! Never have, never will! You’re always so creepy, stalking me and throwing yourself at me. Why can’t you be more normal, like Lucy?"**  
   
Flashbacks ran through her mind of the day that shook her world. Unable to handle any of it, she got off the bar stool and began pushing through the crowds, becoming more frantic the more she pushed through the crowds. She pushed through crowds and frantically shoved through couples attached to each other’s lips. Finally, she made it out of the door. However, she did not stop running. She ran even faster, sprinting away until she could no longer hear the party, but she did not dare to look back. She ran so fast that everything became a blur of colors and buildings.  
   
 _Run. Keep on running. Don’t stop running. RUN._  
   
Eventually, she tripped on a stone in the walkway and came to a tumbling halt. No doubt she had cuts and bruises just waiting to be formed. When she looked around, she realized that she was all alone in the little courtyard and that so much time had passed that it was already dark outside. On the dark, empty walkway, Juvia broke down in tears and the town of Treecap faced the worst rainstorm the citizens had ever seen.  
  


* * *

   
Laxus was at the bar when a mug of beer suddenly slid across the bar and stopped right in front of him. “Are you gonna refuse my offer to a free drink, too?” the bartender mocked. Laxus grabbed the mug and downed it all in one go, smirking at the bartender. “Does that answer your question?” he teased.  
   
The bartender laughed and replied, “It’s good to see someone with just as much of an appetite for alcohol as myself. What’s your name?”  
   
“Laxus Dreyar. Yours?” he asked, holding out his hand.  
   
“Jez Treecap,” the bartender replied, grasping Laxus’ hand and shaking it.  
  
"Y'know, you remind me of this chick at my guild. A busty brunette with an ungodly amount of alcohol tolerance. She'd marry alcohol if she could."  
  
The bartender laughed, "Yeah, sounds about right. Sadly, I think I'm the only girl 'round here who likes it."  
  
"How come?"  
  
"I offered a drink to some hottie I had never seen in this town before and she just flat-up refused my drink. What a stiff, am I right?” she scoffed, glancing down at her nails for a brief moment.  
   
“I dunno. Maybe today was just not her day,” Laxus hesitantly responded. A certain blue-headed water mage’s image popped into his head. “Maybe she has bad memories of alcohol.”  
   
The bartender scoffed. “Even so, she could’ve at least drank it for me.”  
   
Laxus narrowed his eyes at the bartender. “ _She_ owes you nothing. _She_ doesn’t have to do anything just ‘cause _you_ want _her_ to,” he growled, clenching his fists at the bartender's jerk attitude.  
   
“Woah, easy there buddy. I was just annoyed that she wouldn’t let loose just a little bit,” the bartender defended, holding her hands up in a _back off_ gesture.  
   
“There’s no reason to act so cocky. Maybe _that’s_ why she refused you,” Laxus growled back.  
   
“Do you know who I am?”  
   
“No, and frankly, I don’t care. No title or relation _ever_  gives you the right to hurt other people,” Laxus growled, his memory bringing about memories of an epic battle between guild members, and the word  _excommunication_  flashing in front of his eyes.  
   
“Watch your attitude bud. I could have you thrown out of this town without a second thought. I could also make you go to jail,” the bartender threatened, her head getting dangerously close to Laxus’ own. By this point, the crowds had gone quiet and still as they watched the fight break out.  
   
“Who do you think you are, the mayor?”  
   
“No, I’m his granddaughter,” she replied, cracking his fists. The Thunder God Tribe had heard Laxus’ voice and were rushing to defend Laxus. However, the crowds kept them from ever getting close enough to do so. “I pity him. It’s no wonder he didn’t mention you to my team and I that _he hired_. And he didn’t even mention the people that are the _main features of the parade_ to his own granddaughter. How sad.”  
   
“YOU WANNA FIGHT, YOU BA-”  
   
Rain abruptly began pouring on the rooftop of the mansion-like house, drowning out the last word of the bartender. “Man, why’d it have to rain? It’s so _gloomy_ when it rains,” the bartender whined.  
   
Freed sharply inhaled and looked at his two companions, his eyes wide with understanding. “Have either of you seen Juvia since we arrive here?” Freed shakily asked his companions.  
   
“No.”  
   
“Is she here now?”  
   
When the three found no sign of her, they looked back to the two men about to fight. “Laxus!” Freed yelled, cupping his hands in front of his mouth so that his voice was louder than theirs.  
   
“Don’t interrupt me, I’m about to teach this punk a lesson,” Laxus growled, lightning zipping across his clenched fists.  
   
“But Juvia’s in trouble!” Freed bellowed.  
   
Laxus froze, his eyes widening at the statement. He dropped the bartender’s collar and turned into a lightning bolt, reappearing outside the house. The trio looked around the room and Bickslow threatened, “Well, get outta the way! Before we _make_ you.”  
   
The crowd parted for the trio and they hastily made their way out of the house. When they came upon Laxus, they saw him sniffing the air. “Yeah, it’s definitely Juvia’s rain,” Laxus mumbled. He turned toward Freed and said, “Now, where is she?”  
   
“We don’t know. We were hoping that you would know, or at least be able to find her with your nose,” Freed replied.  
   
“Rain washes away scents,” Laxus replied. “Besides, this whole rain reeks of her so much that I wouldn’t even be able to smell her apart from it if she were right in front of me.”  
   
“Maybe she’s at the hotel,” Bickslow suggested.  
   
The group rushed towards the hotel, their shoes splashing through puddles. When they arrived at the hotel, Freed said, “Bickslow and I will check our room just in case. Evergreen, check your shared room. Laxus, go to the attendant at the front desk and see if you can get any information on Juvia’s whereabouts from her.”  
   
The trio ran off to the two rooms, leaving Laxus in the lobby. He turned toward the mid-twenties attendant at the desk and marched over to him. “Have you seen a blue haired girl ‘round here in last hour or so?” he asked.  
   
“A blue haired girl?” he replied.  
   
“Yeah. Blue hair, blue eyes, about this tall,” Laxus spoke, gesturing with his hands to describe Juvia.  
   
“Oh, you mean that cute girl who, according to rumors, will be this year’s mermaid in the annual festival?”  
   
“Yeah. Her.”  
   
“Sorry, I haven’t seen her since she rushed out this morning.”  
   
“Oh.”  
   
“Although, you might find her at my sister’s party,” he offered.  
   
“Your…sister?”  
   
“Yeah. Her name is Jez.”  
   
“Your _sister_ is _that_ jerk?!”  
   
“Oh, so you _have_ met her. Yeah, it surprises me too sometimes that we’re related,” he sighed. “We both have a heavy influence on this town because our grandfather’s the mayor. She uses her influence to get cheap drugs and throw massive parties. She also threatens to run people out of town or throw them in jail, but not even our grandfather can do that just because he wants to, much less the mayor’s granddaughter. I’m sorry if she gave you a hard time.”  
   
“Don’t apologize, it ain’t your fault. But it is _her_ fault Juvia’s crying and I’m not happy with her.”  
   
“Who’s Juvia?”  
   
“She's the girl we're lookin' for.”  
   
“Really?!”  
   
“Yep.”  
  
"So, are you all in the parade?"  
  
"Yeah. All five of us were hired by the mayor, your grandfather, to help."  
   
“That’s so cool! I’m gonna be in it, too! Maybe I could help you guys and show you around,” he cheered, excited at the prospect of new friends.  
   
Before Laxus could respond, the trio came back rushing back, panting. “Sorry, but you’ll have to excuse us,” Laxus apologized, watching as the attendant nodded and walked away. When he left, Laxus turned back to the trio. “Any luck?” Laxus asked, only to be responded by all three shaking their heads.  
   
“Great, just great. Now what can we do?” Laxus grumbled.  
   
“Maybe if we wait here, she’ll come back eventually-”  
   
“I doubt it,” Evergreen interrupted. “When I woke up this morning, Juvia was acting a little jumpy. When I invited her to spend the day with us, she seemed shocked that I had offered it."  
  
"Why would she be shocked?” Freed asked.  
   
"I'll tell you if you'd stop interrupting me! Now then, when I asked her why she was shocked, she confessed that she just thought we were going to ditch her."  
  
"We'd never do such a thing," Freed defended.  
  
"Apparently, she doesn't think that we like her all that much. She might even think that we hate her."  
   
“She thinks that we…” Freed trailed off.  
   
“…Hate her?” Bickslow said, finishing Freed’s sentence.  
   
“I’m afraid so,” Evergreen replied.  
  
“We have to find her. _Now_ ,” Laxus announced. “We’ll split up and look from here. Evergreen, you go east. Bickslow, you go south. Freed, you go west. I’ll go north. Everyone takes a communication lacrima with them and if you find her, contact us and we’ll meet back here. Got it?”  
   
With the nods from everyone, Freed then added, “Then let’s find Juvia. _Our nakama_.” With that statement, the group went to the hotel’s front doors and split up, everyone breaking into runs to find their dear friend.  
   
“Don’t worry, Juvia. I’m comin’ for ya.”


	15. A Fairy Tail Woman

Laxus felt a panic in his heart as soon as he left the hotel. Since water makes lightning do strange things, he could not teleport with his lightning unless he wanted to know what dying felt like. Instead, he had to search for Juvia on foot. The rain seemed to get worse with each step he took, not helping his fatigue. When he left the hotel and the four mages split up, it was just a steady rain. Now, it seemed as though each droplet of rain was meant to pierce straight through his clothes and attack his body. His skin stung from rain, making him want to find the nearest shelter and stay there. Despite his desire for a warm and dry place, he had a guild mate to find and was not going to stop until he found her. "I won't give up on her. Not this time."  
  
Evergreen was not fairing much better. The rain had long since flattened her hair and soaked her dress, ruining her outfit and make-up that she spent so long trying to put together and make perfect. "It will take a miracle for this dress to even survive this downpour," she muttered, slowing down to pick at the bottom of her ruined dress. "And it's my favorite dress!" Her feet ached from her high heels. "I should have grabbed different shoes..." Suddenly, a blast of lightning lit up the sky and a flash of thunder followed quickly behind it, startling her back to reality. Beginning to sprint again down the narrow road, she continued, "However, I will not let such trivial matters get in the way of finding my nakama."  
  
Bickslow ran through many alleyways, hoping that Juvia would have run off into one of them. After some time, he wondered if he was lost, because all he seemed to be doing was twisting and turning. When he reached another dead end, he growled at it and turned toward his followers. "Babies!" he yelled, his voice nearly drowned out by the rain, "Go search ahead of me!" He swept his hand in an arch and his puppets sped away, going faster than him by traveling above the buildings. "Juvia, where the heck did you go? And why would you ever think something like that? You're just as much our family as anyone else in Fairy Tail..."  
  
Freed felt very weighed down. His red coat's fabric seemed to absorb so much water that he felt as though he were in his own personal swimming pool. Normally, he would have just put up with the annoyance, but he did not have a single second to waste because of heavy fabric. Even though it pained him to do so, he ripped off his coat and threw it to the side, not even bothering to look back as it faded into the puddles on the road. Although he had less of a load to carry, his sacrifice did not help much, as he still could not see much of what was in front of him. "If only I could see straight through everything, then I could see exactly where she is in this whole town..."  
  
Suddenly, Freed came to a full stop as an idea popped into his head. "Why didn't I think of this sooner?" he scolded, shaking his head at himself. As fast as he could, Freed began drawing an enchantment that would allow him to see through any objects that he desired. However, it took a few minutes to write. When he was done writing the enchantment, he cast it and admired his handiwork. "I cannot believe that it took me that long to think of something as simple as that," he murmured. Using his newfound eyesight, he frantically scanned the area, his eyes landing on a hunched figure in an empty courtyard. "Juvia..." he whispered, sadness clinging to his words.  
  
As soon as he saw her, he looked at the surrounding streets to see where the best course of path would be to find his friend. When he decided on a route, Freed began sprinting through the streets as he followed his planned path. However, his enchanted sight wore off quickly and he cursed his lack of knowledge about sight spells. Stopping his run, he drew the enchantment again. Excitement coursed through him as he saw where Juvia was. "Juvia is near, perhaps just a few blocks away..." he muttered to himself as he ran frantically through the streets. "Juvia!" he screamed, his voice lost in the wind.  
  
When he reached the courtyard, Freed saw the huddled figure across the fountain. "Juvia!" he tried again, cupping his hands around his mouth. This time, the figure turned toward Freed and its head shot up when it noticed him. Freed could not see who it was because its long hair was covering its face. Trembling, the figure got up and turned around, clumsily trying to make an escape. "Hey!" he yelled, frustrated that it did not even acknowledge him. Freed pursued the person, jumping clean over the fountain as he brought his two fingers up to his face. Before he could make an enchantment to stop the person, it turned a corner and sprinted further away. Freed cursed again and turned into the narrow alleyway that the figure had gone in. Finally, he slowed to a stop a few feet away from the figure when he noticed it trapped itself at a dead end.  
  
"Juvia!" he yelled, his voice hoarse from yelling earlier. The figure turned its face toward Freed and slipped on the puddle, falling on its backside and sniffling at the pain. Carefully, Freed approached the figure with his hand held out. "Juvia, is that you?" he asked, pausing a few inches from the person's face. It recoiled at the closeness, sinking into one of the alleyway's corners and huddling into itself. Freed could have sworn that he hear a hiss or two from the person.  
  
"Go away..."  
  
It was so quiet that Freed strained his ears in order to hear those two words coming from the hunched figure's raspy voice. "Juvia? Juvia, it's me, Freed. We're nakama, remember?" Freed whispered, his eyes beginning to sting at the sight of the broken person in front of him. "Na... ka... ma..." it repeated, tilting its head to one side. Quickly, Freed reached out and brushed its hair outside, ignoring the flinch from the figure and the pain that flinch caused in his heart to feel.  
  
"Juvia..." he breathed, his eyes soaking in the sight before him. She pulled her arms against herself and clutched the ends of her torn dress, the ribbon across her waist falling from what was a bow that rested on her bottom. A hair clip that dangled on a few strands of her hair began clacking against her head as she started shivering. She pawed at her arms, her fingers clutching at some fabric and bringing it around to warm herself up. Sadly, the fabric was so light that it did not help. It only added on to the hopeless feeling that seemed to radiate off of her. Freed's eyes stung as he felt a tear slip down his cheek.  
  
" _What_?" she barked, baring her teeth at him while her hands balled into fists. "What more could you _possibly_ want from me? Haven't you hurt me enough?!" she screamed, her voice cracking as he backed away at her sudden outburst. "Haven't you taken enough from me?! How much lower could I possibly go?! How much lower do you _want_ me to go?! You've forced me to go where I didn't want to go and now you want to force me to go with you, back to people that don't want to be with me?! _What more do you want from me?!_ "  
  
The clouds above Freed's head turned darker than the rest of the clouds as the rain began pelting him, shredding his shirt and pants. Freed gasped as the rain began pounding on his body, tearing at his flesh and cutting his skin. At this point, Freed had his own, personal hail storm above his head. Meanwhile, she shakily stood up and took a few steps away from him. "Juvia, stop-" Freed began.  
  
She cut him off, "No, _you_ stop! Stop trying to be my friend! Stop trying to pretend like _that_ battle didn't happen! Guess what, it really did happen! How can you act like you care about me- how can _any_ of you act like you care about me when none of you _ever_ apologized to me for what happened?! Did you think that I would just forgive and forget?! How can any of you act like you care when NONE OF YOU CARE?!"  
  
Freed flinched again as the words cut him deeper and hurt him more than the hail was. When she noticed this, a bitter chuckle escaped her throat as she threw her head back. Her balance seemed to weaken as she stumbled back. Slamming her back against the alleyway's wall, she fell down on the ground like a rag doll.  
  
"Look at me," she spat, a self-hating tone evident in her voice. "Maybe you were right all along, Freed. Maybe I was just denying the truth the whole time. Maybe, no matter how hard I try, no matter how much I pretend, I will always resort to how I used to be. Maybe... maybe  _I am and always will be Phantom's woman_. After all, _who knows when I'll turn my sword against Fairy Tail again_?"  
  
At that statement, Freed's eyes grew wide as he vividly remembered that day. _Does she believe that we still hold that opinion of her?_ he wondered. _She really does think that we hate her..._ When she began sobbing, Freed was brought back to reality. Shaking, he took a deep breath as he prepared himself for speaking.  
  
"Juvia..." he began, his voice cracking on the end of her name. "Juvia, I- _we_ are so, _so_ sorry. I-I never even thought about the possibility of you being hesitant around alcohol, and I'm just-" Freed hiccuped. He brought his hand up to his mouth as the other gently grasped a few of her stray hairs and tucked them behind her ears. "I'm so sorry," he whispered, his eyes shining with guilt as he looked at what his careless words did to his precious nakama. "Y-You are so amazing and strong and talented and kind and..."  
  
Freed's voice trailed off as he looked down at the ground, unable to look any longer at his broken friend. Erratically breathing, he collapsed onto the ground as he began weeping at what he had done. His hands covered his eyes as his elbows rested on his knees, his feet tucked under himself. In a voice so soft Juvia nearly did not hear it, Freed whispered, "You are truly a Fairy Tail woman."  
  
Juvia's eyes widened. Ever so slowly, she raised her fist to her chest, her mouth still parted in shock. The hail stopped as rain began pouring over Freed. Soon enough, the rain began to fade into a light mist before vanishing completely. A bright light stung Freed's eyes when they opened again, only for him to realize that it was the sun glaring through the clouds from the west. Freed looked up at Juvia before hesitantly standing up. When he reached out his hand, she looked at it with teary eyes. "Please," Freed murmured. Slowly, Juvia grasped his hand with her own.  
  
Gently, he led her away from the alley corner and back into the streets. They walked in silence, him dragging her along until they reached the courtyard that he had found her in. When they reached the fountain in the middle of the courtyard, he let go of her hand and looked around at the courtyard before looking back at her. He approached her and sighed, "I'm sorry-" but she held out her hand in the universal sign for _stop_. Freed looked at her with a questioning expression.  
  
"I... I should be the one who's sorry," Juvia whispered.  
  
"Why?" Freed asked, a bewildered expression on his face.  
  
"I yelled at you and I hurt you and I... I did it again. I caused it to rain. And all rain _ever_ does it bring misery to others. It pushes them away. It makes them feel gloomy. It-"  
  
"You are wrong."  
  
Without hesitation, Freed gently grabbed her chin and brought her face to face with himself.  
  
"You are wrong. The rain does _not_ bring misery. The rain does _not_ push people away. The rain does _not_ make people feel gloomy. It is not the _rain's_ fault. It is not _your_ fault. If it's anyone's fault, it's the people's fault for basing their emotions off of something as ever-changing as the weather."  
  
"But the rain is just miserable," she spoke.  
  
Freed paused for a moment before saying, "If the rain is just miserable... how can it create a picture like _this_?"  
  
Freed brought the hand that had been on her chin and rested it on her cheek, guiding her face until she could see the whole courtyard. Juvia gasped at the sight. The street faced east and west, so the setting sun shone all over the place, tingeing everything the light touched with pink and orange shades. Standing proud in the rich and dark soil, the flowers all swayed back and forth to an unknown song as their petals seemed to glow. A soft wind blew, carrying a few cherry blossoms from their tree through the wind. The fountain was spiting water in an incredible design that faded into the outlying pool. Glittering copper coins sit at the bottom of the fountain pool, showing the countless number of wishes. The wood benches all had a rich color to them as the stone pathways looked shiny and new, despite them being a few generations old. All the puddles on the ground were reflecting the sun's colors and it created almost a rainbow of colors in the puddles.  
  
"Is that _really_ a sight of gloom and misery?" Freed gently whispered, his eyes focused on her.  
  
When she looked at him, their eyes met and she noticed how they looked like a small pond on a breezy summer day. "No, it isn't," she answered, a few tears beginning to leak from her eyes. A large, bright smile spread across her face as she closed her teary eyes. Answering her smile with a soft one of his own, Freed gently brushed her tears away with his thumbs.  
  
"Freed," Juvia began.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Where is everyone else?"  
  
Freed's eyes widened as he gasped. "The others! H-how did I ever forget them? They must be so worried..." he trailed off, his hands reaching for pockets that no longer were on his body.  
  
"Where is it? Let's see, I left them and the hotel when I put the lacrima in my coat pocket and while I was running I... I left the lacrima in my coat, which I left in some remote street..." Freed groaned, internally scolding himself for his stupidity.  
  
Juvia giggled. "No worries, Freed," she consoled. "They must have noticed the weather changes, so perhaps they have gone back to the hotel and are waiting for us there."  
  
"Perhaps. At any rate, we must get going if we wish to be back soon."  
  
 With that, Freed began to walk, only to stop and look back at Juvia.  
  
"Are you going to come with me, Juvia?" he asked, offering his hand to her.  
  
"O-of course... we Fairy Tail mages must stick together, right?" she hesitantly asked, her hand halfway to meeting with his.  
  
Freed softly smiled at her and extended his arm until his hand reached hers, their hands intertwining as he gave her hand a comforting squeeze.  
  
"Always."


	16. Chef's Specialty

The walk back to the hotel was silent but pleasant. Freed and Juvia strolled hand-in-hand while admiring the beautiful scenery around town. Since most people were still inside their homes after the freak storm that hit, the two mages did not see any other person on their walk back. Even so, their smiles at each other and the things around them showed that they were having a good time together, just enjoying the other's presence. However, doubts lurked in the back of Juvia's mind.  
  
 _This is nice, but I am a little nervous. I understand that Freed cares for me like family, but what about the others? Evergreen seemed off this morning and I know nothing about Bickslow. Laxus wanted to kill me when we first met, and I have always wondered if that hatred has lingered even after he helped defeat Hades and re-joined Fairy Tail. What if-_  
  
"You have nothing to worry about," Freed said comfortingly, squeezing Juvia's hand and facing her. Those were the first words either had spoken since their tearful conversation. When she gave him a confused look, he gave a light chuckle and a pitying half-smile in return. "You are worried about what the others will think of you, but you have nothing to fear. All of us care for you like our own, and it goes deeper than the stamp we all share. We are a family, and as such our family is not complete without you in it. Every one of us feels the same way."  
  
"Thank you, Freed," Juvia replied, a soft smile gracing her lips that was returned by a kind smile of his own as their walk became silent again.  
  
"We are here."  
  
The duo looked forward and saw the quaint hotel in front of them. It was white and had a few floors, making it tower above anyone. Two columns based on Ancient Greece architecture and a magnificent doorway with a warm, welcoming, rich brown door marked the entrance. It was almost like a huge chocolate bar, except for the stained glass in the door. Freed approached the honey-colored handle and opened it, letting Juvia go in first. They wasted no time in going up to their floor and soon found themselves in front of the boys' room. With a reassuring squeeze to Juvia's hand, Freed opened the door and the two walked into the room.  
  
Steam greeted Freed and Juvia, fogging their sight and forcing them both to squint. The bathroom door was closed, but that did not stop the steam and the feminine scents from escaping. The room had three queen sized beds, one of which had Bickslow's dolls and his helmet laying on it. Bickslow was standing right beside that bed with an expression of surprise, confusion, and relief. Laxus stood closer to the doorway and looked like he was expecting the two to be there. Silence rang throughout the room as no one knew what to say. Awkward would be putting the situation lightly. "The rain out there drenched both of you too, huh?" Bickslow asked, trying to break the tension in the room.  
  
Juvia tensed up at the words, and Freed immediately looked at Juvia while she looked down at the floor. Coughing, Bickslow realized that he made the situation worse. "Heh, anyway... Freed, where's your coat?" he asked, trying for a second time to make things more comfortable.  
  
"It slowed me down so I threw it off. Do not worry though, I can always buy a new one," Freed responded.  
  
The room turned awkwardly quiet as no one knew what else to say. Juvia had her eyes trained to the floor, not even daring to look up at anyone. Having let go of Juvia's hand when he opened the hotel door, Freed stood beside her while Bickslow continued to keep his distance from everyone by staying at the back of the room. While everyone else just looked uncomfortable, Laxus' expression was unclear as his hair covered his eyes in a dark shadow. After a long silence, Laxus softly questioned, "Where's your communication lacrima?"  
  
Freed opened his mouth to answer but Laxus cut him off and kept going, his voice growing in volume with each passing word. "And why didn't you think to tell us you found her?! We decided _without_ you that we would come back to the hotel and regroup because you weren't picking up! We thought that we would have to search for _two_ of our nakama in the pouring rain where we couldn't search that well! What were you thinking?!" Laxus bellowed, he expression becoming more enraged as his rant went on.  
  
"I'm sorry," Juvia softly whispered, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. "I'm sorry. I-I'm sorry for running off and for the rain and for making everyone miserable and for ruining the party and for taking away everyone's one day of relaxation and for-"  
  
"You didn't ruin our day, Juvia," Freed comforted, putting a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"And besides, that party was full of jerks anyway, so you really just gave us an excuse to get outta there," Bickslow continued, shrugging his shoulders.  
  
The bathroom door opened and let out a huge gust of steam, giving Evergreen the perfect moment to step out in her green silk nightgown and trademark glasses. "You don't need to apologize for anything, Juvia," Evergreen stated, looking her fellow female in the eye. "If anyone is to apologize, it is us for making you question whether or not we actually cared. I should have chased after you this morning; I knew you were acting a little strange, but I was afraid to hear the truth. I didn't _want_ to face the truth."  
  
"I don't think any of us did," Freed admitted with a sigh in his voice.  
  
Juvia looked around the room, her eyes scanning each person's face. Her heart soared when she noticed the sincerity in their words. "T-thank you," she whispered, a smile on her face.  
  
"We are proud to call you our nakama, Juvia," Evergreen declared, resting her hand on Juvia's shoulder.  
  
"Yeah! You're hot and wicked powerful, what's not to love?" Bickslow cheered.  
  
"Idiot! Do you know how to woo a girl?" Evergreen asked, irritated at her team mate.  
  
"Well, you hold her hands and you kiss her and you take her to a bedroom or a couch or a table or the floor and you-"  
  
"Never mind _those_ perverted thoughts," Freed interrupted, casting a silencing enchantment on Bickslow.  
  
When Bickslow tried to talk, no sounds was heard as he moved his mouth back and forth silently. Juvia smiled at the scene and giggled so quietly that no one heard it, save for the blonde dragon slayer. Laxus glanced at Juvia and felt a soft smile of his own appear on his face, although it went unnoticed by his companions. The bickering continued until everyone heard a loud growl from someone's stomach. Laxus blushed in embarrassment and with a quiet "tch" turned his face so that he was looking away from everyone's glances. Bickslow began laughing, much to Freed's chagrin, who quickly started defending his precious Laxus' honor. "' _My_  precious Laxus'?" Evergreen repeated under her breath. "Since when was he yours?! He's _ours_ you idiot!"  
  
"I'm not anyone's!" Laxus defended with his arms crossed over his stomach, feeling very abashed by the whole situation.  
  
 _That's right. Since we went to the party this afternoon and they spent a while searching for me, they haven't gotten the time to eat dinner._  
  
"How about we go out to dinner? I know the perfect place," Juvia suggested, bringing everyone's attention to her.  
  
"Dinner does sound nice," Freed agreed.  
  
"I'm game," Bickslow stated.  
  
"I _am_ getting a little peckish," Evergreen admitted.  
  
"What are we waitin' for? Lead the way, Juvia," Laxus said, looking at Juvia and gesturing his hand toward the hotel room door.  
  
Juvia nodded and walked to the door, opening it and walking out into the hallway. The other four followed Juvia out of the hotel and through the streets as she retraced her steps from that morning.  
  
 _It's a little surprising that all of that happened this morning. It feels like it was days ago..._  
  
Distracted by her thoughts, Juvia accidentally tripped on the stone walkway and fell on her face. Although Freed and Evergreen went to help Juvia, Bickslow began laughing while Laxus just looked unsurprised and disappointed. Furiously blushing, Juvia dusted herself off and began walking again as if nothing had happened. After a few more minutes, they arrived at a small café with the name "The Kismet Diner" in large words above the door. "'The Kismet Diner?' How peculiar of a name..." Freed muttered under his breath.  
  
"Here we are!" Juvia cheered, a smile on her face as she spread out her hands in a wide gesture. "I came here for breakfast this morning and it is a great place. The food is delicious, the service is excellent, and the people are so wonderful and friendly."  
  
"Well, let's go! I'm so hungry I could eat just about anything!" Bickslow said, his dolls repeating "Eat anything! Eat anything!"  
  
The group went inside the diner and were met by a bell sounding off. A woman walked up to them and beamed, her brown eyes sparkling. "Welcome to the Kismet Diner! My name is Natalie and I'll be your server for tonight. Right this way!"  
  
After gesturing towards the sitting area of the diner, Natalie led the mages to the corner of the diner where a large corner booth was. It wrapped around in a little more than a half circle, leaving plenty of space for the five people. Laxus began to sit down, but was stopped by Freed tugging on his arm. "Can I sit with you, Laxus?" Freed begged, jutting out his bottom lip for extra emphasis.  
  
"No, you dummy! Laxus is going to sit by me like a gentleman should!" Evergreen scolded, yanking Laxus' arm out of Freed's grip.  
  
"C'mon Laxus, you're gonna sit beside me, right? 'Cuz ya know what they say about bros before h-"  
  
"If you so much as  _think_  about calling me that word, I will tell Sorcerer Weekly about your little  _incident_  at the - what did you call it? Oh yes, - the "Bunny Bar" after that one mission, and I won't leave out a single detail," Evergreen threatened, a dark glint in her eyes.  
  
"That's not cool, man! You said you wouldn't tell anyone!"  
  
"I won't, as long as you let me sit by Laxus. And I am not a man!"  
  
"Oh year? Well-"  
  
"Tch. Idiots," Laxus muttered under his breath.  
  
"I have the perfect solution to this," Freed stated, a knowing smirk on his face. "What if Laxus sits in the middle? Then we  _all_ can share him."  
  
"Finally, someone thinks with their head and agrees to share," Evergreen teased.  
  
"I'll share, but you two better not hog him!" Freed possessively growled.  
  
"I just want some of him for me, but the two of you can fight over what's left," Bickslow stated.  
  
"What am I, a piece of meat?" Laxus groaned, irritation clear on his face.  
  
Juvia giggled softly before nudging Laxus. "If you sit down now, they might just stop," she hinted.  
  
"Hm."  
  
When Laxus sat down, his three followers did as well, leaving an outer seat for Juvia. She ended up sitting beside Bickslow, and Evergreen had the other outer seat. Freed was happily crammed between Bickslow and Laxus, a goofy smile adorning his face. When they all heard a cough, their attention was brought back to their server. "If I could now, what would you all like to drink?" Natalie asked, thoroughly amused by the group's dynamics.  
  
"I'll take a diet Koce." (A/N: This is just a play on words, so don't worry too much about it.)  
  
"Whatever's fine."  
  
"I'll take what Laxus gets! His impeccable judgement cannot be wrong!"  
  
"I'll drink you anytime, babe, but I guess Hill Droplets will do." (A/N: Do you like my lame attempts at rip-off drink names? XD I'm so unoriginal.)  
  
"I just want water."  
  
"Great!" Natalie spoke, tapping her pen against the paper to close it. With a whip of her skirt, she practically skipped to the drink fountain. When she returned with drinks on a serving tray, she quickly distributed the drinks to everyone. Her pen and paper came out of her pouch again, and she clicked it once more. "Now, are you guys ready to order, or do you need a little more time?" she offered.  
  
Juvia giggled before responding, "I don't think you ever gave us a menu."  
  
Natalie turned bright red, shock dancing in her eyes. "Oh no, I'm so sorry you guys. I guess it just slipped my mind. I'll be right back." Nearly sprinting, she hurried to the desk and back, menus in hand. "Here," she said, handing everyone a menu, "I'll leave you guys for a few minutes and then come back. Again, I'm so, so sorry!"  
  
"It's fine," Juvia answered, mirth in her voice and laughter in her eyes.  
  
When Juvia glanced at the menu, she saw the breakfast section and immediately thought back to the omelette she had that morning. Her appetite suddenly large, her mouth began watering at the thought of another golden plate of perfection. However, it was not on the menu. Confused, she scanned the entirety of the menu, perplexed by the absence of any sort of omelette. After a few more minutes, Natalie came back and began taking everyone's orders. When she got to Juvia, she questioned, "And what can I get for you?"  
  
"Um, I was wondering, is breakfast served at this hour?" Juvia hesitantly inquired, biting her lip.  
  
"Of course! Who are we to restrict food to certain times of the day? What would you like?"  
  
"An omelette, please."  
  
At her request, Natalie's expression became clouded with confusion. "I'm sorry, but we don't serve omelettes," she answered.  
  
"But, I had one this morning..."  
  
"Oh... I-I guess I'll ask the chef about it," Natalie responded, strolling over to the open bar kitchen. She said something to the cook, and he immediately got up and marched over to the Fairy Tail mages. "Why, if it isn't Miss Juvia," the chef remarked, awe and surprise in her voice. "What're you doing here again?"  
  
"Again?" Freed asked, his voice in a whispering tone.  
  
"Well, we're still new here, and this was the only place I could think of nearby that had good food," Juvia retorted.  
  
"Well, you aren't wrong about that, Miss Juvia," she laughed, a smirk adorning her face.  
  
"Chef," Natalie interrupted, "This lady told me that she ate an omelette here this morning, and even though I said that we don't serve those here, she insisted that's what she had."  
  
"Well, it's not on the menu, so it's obviously not a regular dish here. But, Miss Juvia is not a regular customer. I can't remember the last time someone let me pick a meal for them, so I decided to give her the chef's special, something that no one else has eaten from my frying pan, except for the other two. I guess she reminded me so much of my mom and wife, I just had to give her something different, something special."  
  
"While that's nice, we can't really serve a dish that's not on our menu," the server carefully stated.  
  
"Oh phewy," she scoffed, giving a playful wink to Juvia. "It'll just be one of the chef's specials. A special that only Miss Juvia can have, because she's so special."  
  
"Um, that's not how it works," the waitress reprimanded, raising her eyebrow.  
  
"That's how I work! Get used to it, kiddo," the cook merrily boasted, clapping Natalie on the back. "Now, I'm gonna go whip up those four other orders and Miss Juvia's special dish."  
  
"Fine," Natalie sighed, defeat evident as she slumped back to the bar and sat down on a stool.  
  
Halfway to the kitchen section, the cook turned back around and looked at Juvia. "Now don't you forget," she commanded, a sparkle in her eyes and a shine in her smile as she winked once more, "You're welcome to order the chef's specialty whenever you like, Miss Juvia!"  
  



	17. The Preparations Begin

Laughter poured out of the diner, the lights illuminating the dark night. The doors opened, making way for a small group as all but one of them shuffled out of the quaint building. Smiles covered their faces as they merrily strolled away. "Hey Juvia, keep up, or we're gonna lose ya!" Bickslow called out, looking over his shoulder at the group's straggler.

"Just one moment!" Juvia replied, waving back at him.

Turning away from the rest of her group, Juvia rushed back inside the building and dodged the furniture, careful to not knock down any of the chairs that were already on top of the tables. She went behind the bar and navigated her way through the ovens until she reached the back room, tackling the cook. "Why Miss Juvia, what're you doing?" the chef asked, her voice warm and friendly.

"Thank you," Juvia whispered, gripping the chef just a little bit tighter. Squeezing Juvia in response, the chef's faint chuckle rumbled in her chest. "Anytime."

After releasing the chef from her death grip, Juvia gave the chef one last smile and strolled away, clutching her hands together with a soft, content smile adorning her face. When she realized how far away she was from her guild mates, she rushed to catch up to them. "Hey, wait up!" she yelled.

"Ya gotta be quick enough Juvia! Put those long, silky legs to good use!" Bickslow responded, cackling at his perverted comment.

"Bickslow! That's a highly inappropriate comment!" Freed chastised, disgusted by his friend's crude remark.

"That is no way to treat a lady!" Evergreen added, hitting Bickslow with her umbrella.

The three began bickering as they walked along. When Juvia caught up with them, she chuckled, gaining Laxus' attention. "It would be weird if they didn't act like this. They're like siblings, and you're their big brother that they look up to. So even though it can get annoying, it seems endearing, doesn't it? And you wouldn't want it any other way," she softly spoke.

Laxus looked at his three teammates and a soft, genuine smile appeared on his face.

"Yeah."

 

* * *

 

When Juvia awoke that morning, she found more than ten people in her hotel room. "Kyaa!" she squeaked, mortified that people were looking at her in her nightgown. She grabbed her bed sheet and quickly covered herself, but no one paid any attention to her distress. Looking to her right, Evergreen sat on her bed that was perfectly made, and she was fully dressed in an attractive business shirt, jacket, and pencil skirt.

"Um, Evergreen, why are there other people in here?" Juvia asked, confused laced in her morning voice.

"Since yesterday was our day of relaxation and the festival begins in three days, we must start our preparation now," Evergreen replied, her annoyance at the intrusion evident in her voice.

"Oh."

"Good morning my lovely Juvia! How are you doing this morning, beautiful?" the mayor greeted, bounding up to the bluenette when he realized that she was awake.

"W-well, I'm a little shocked at all the people in my hotel room..."

"Ah, that's right! I forgot to warn everyone about the warm welcome. Don't mind these people, the costume designers simply wanted to look at your style in order to understand how they will decorate your personal floats, sets, and of the such. We need to get busy because we have a lot of prep work ahead of us, so chop chop! Get dressed and then we will go downtown for some general overviews of how the festival will go, alright?"

"A-ah, okay."

Juvia decided to wear a white, flowy skirt and a dark, blue-purple top with spaghetti straps and a few holes in between her breasts to show off her large chest. She quickly brushed through her hair and wore some navy blue sandals. As soon as Juvia was ready, she and Evergreen were whisked away by the mayor from their bustling hotel room to the streets of Treecap. (A/N: The chapter picture is how I imagine Juvia looking after she got dressed.)

 

\------------------------------------------------

 

When the girls arrived downtown, the bustling of preparation took them by surprise. It seemed as if the whole town was helping set up the festival. "Evergreen," the mayor began, "You will be working in the costume department. Please go to your right and you will find Mac, a nerdy-looking boy with a huge checklist of what needs to get done. Despite appearances, he is very kind. He will tell you the details of your job."

"Yes sir."

With that, Evergreen walked away, leaving just Juvia and the mayor. "Well, dear Juvia, shall we go to where you will be working?"

"H-hai."

The mayor led Juvia to a large warehouse with construction noises blaring from the inside. "Will I be helping with construction?" Juvia questioned.

"Oh Heavens no, I would never make you work like that. Instead, can I ask you how your swimming is?"

"Wha?"

The duo stood before an enormous fish tank, large enough that it must be carried by an eighteen-wheeler. A person was standing above the tank, holding a hose and filling the tank with water.

"Juvia, for a main part of the parade, you will be seated upon an elaborate throne and smile and wave to everyone you pass. That will be during the initial parade. After the parade, which is used to promote the festival, you will have to swim in this tank for a while and greet the little children during the day. During the night, you will be a part of the special festivities. Are you ready to work hard on these last three days leading up to the festival and the week of partying?"

"Yes, I am."

"What d'ya mean?! I have muscle!" a man screamed indignantly, a voice that Juvia knew all too well. Freed, Laxus, and Bickslow walked around a corner outside the street, arguing with another man. All three Fairy Tail members seemed insulted by the man, and none seemed happy at their current duties.

"Mark, what seems to be the problem?" the mayor called out.

"Well, these  _men_  don't want to partake in any of the jobs they have been given," the high-society man replied, sending an annoyed expression at the three mages, to which three shrugs came his way.

"Look," Laxus began, pointing at the mayor," I don't want any part in just bein' used for muscle. I'm more important than that!"

"And this man insulted me by saying that I have no muscle to lift things with! I do have muscle, and I have my rune magic to aid me or others If they need my assistance," Freed interjected, huffing as he crossed his arms in a childish manner.

"An' he said that my babies were weird!" Bickslow added, gesturing to his flying totem toys.

"Those hideous dolls do not deserve to be shown off in any situation, least of all during such a momentous situation like this festival!" the organizer objected, his detest seeping through his words.

"Now, I understand that the people in both parties feel annoyed, but we can work something out, right boys?" the mayor interjected, holding out his hands in a pleading gesture.

"Laxus, you are right when you say that you should not just be used as muscle. You will be working on some of the main nightly projects. Every night, we have different events, and many times fireworks will be included. Your electricity magic will be invaluable to those projects," the mayor revealed, to which Laxus nodded his head approvingly.

"Bickslow," the mayor began, turning his face to the mentioned man, "Your dolls are welcomed to go wherever you go. If you can, I wish you will change your dolls in order to add excitement to the festival with flying objects. Feel free to be creative, just make it safe and not something that will scare the children."

Bickslow responded, "Thank you." Then, he stuck his tongue out at the man in the suit.

"Freed, I would like you to use your runes to help with safety in all the parade floats as well as the shops that will be set up outside for the festival. More details will be given to all you by Mac Treecap, who should be with your companion Evergeen right now."

Freed smiled at the mayor in gratitude. In the background, Juvia gigged at the chaotic conversation and glanced at her comrades, spending extra time staring at a certain person at a certain person.

"Well," the mayor announced, clapping his hands, "Now that everything has been worked out, let's get to work!"

  
\------------------------------

 

"Oh! You must be one of the people that were looking for the mermaid last night! I hope you found her."

Evergreen felt shocked. Following the mayor's instructions, she approached the festival's organizer. How did the organizer know about the previous night's drama? After she studied his face for a few seconds, she answered her ow question. "And you are the man from the counter. I caught a glimpse of you before you left the counter," she responded.

"Eh, yeah," the man bashfully replied, ducking his head and ruffling his hair with his left hand. "I noticed your whole group was busy, so I left everyone alone."

Evergreen nodded her head toward him in an appreciative gesture. Her features then hardened, and her mind began thinking about the festival. "The mayor told me that I will be working in the costume department and that you would give me the details of my role."

Now focused on the festival, the young man nodded his head at the lady. "You will be working on a special assignment," he revealed. "Since you and the water mage are guild mates, I feel as though you would know what she would look the best in. So, you must design her clothing for the whole festival. I drew some basic designs and regulations about the costumes, since some outfits pertain to different events, but I will leave the details up to you. Each outfit had a date on it, which indicates what day she will be wearing that. You must get the final designs to me three days before that date, so the first outfit's design is due tonight in order for the costume crew to finish it by that time."

Evergreen contemplated her assignment. When she looked back up, determination shown through her eyes. "I want to make her costumes as well, not just design them."

"B-but, that will be so much work!" he protested, shocked at her proposition.

Evergreen's glasses glinted, and a threatening look overtook her face. "Are you suggesting that I cannot complete those tasks?"

"N-no."

"Then what is the problem?"

"N-nothing, it's just a lot of work..."

"I am perfectly capable of doing it. Now, do I have my own work space? I work best when not disturbed."

"Go to the warehouse that the mayor and the mermaid walked in, and find the hallway of offices on the right. There will be a room for costumes, and multiple offices. You may use any one of the empty offices."

Evergreen nodded and marched toward the warehouse, leaving the surprised organizer just as her male companions approached him. No sooner had he finished his conversation with the demanding woman than when the three men stood behind him. "Are you gonna give us jobs worth our weight or nah?" Laxus questioned, aggravation coming off of him in waves. When the organizer turned to face them, Laxus realized who it was. "What's a desk worker doin' here?"

At that remark, a steely glint appeared in the man eyes. "I am Mac Treecap, grandson of the founders of this beautiful town. I am also the organizer for this event. Have a problem? Leave," he responded in a clipped tone. After taking a breath, he continued, "If you are looking for a job, you have come to the right place. Now, you are Laxus Dreyar, correct? Your job is to help create and launch fireworks, as well as overseeing to the lighting for everywhere pertaining to the festival."

With that, he turned to Bickslow. "Floating spirit toys, a knight's visor, a childish stance... You must be Bickslow. Your task also will deal with entertaining the crowds. I need you to check with all the people making floats to ensure that the floats will have the flare desired by their creators. If you are not necessary for a portion of the parade, I would like your souls to use different bodies, from little stars to large floats. Whatever could be entertaining that is possible, go for it."

Finally, he turned to face Freed. "That means you are Freed. As a rune mage, you will be working with providing safety for all the floats and the crowd, as well as organizing the shops. You will be the organizer's assistant, meaning that you will be assisting me. You will fill in for me when I am not there, and you will make sure everything works out okay."

After a brief pause, Mac announced, "Is everyone satisfied with their roles?" Mac gave each of them a questioning look. When each of them nodded, he said, "No questions?" This time, all three men shook their heads.

"Alright then. Laxus, take the first left and walk on the street for about three blocks. There, you will find a firework stand with all of the workers that you will be working with. Bickslow, you will be spending your time with the floats and props, so for now, go to the warehouse straight ahead of you. Freed, walk with me and I will take you to your first official placement. Get to work everyone! There is a lot to complete."

With that, the organizer turned around and began walking away, Freed following behind him. Laxus and Bickslow headed their separate ways as well, and thus the preparations began.


	18. Mysterious Magic

_~2 days and 4.5 hours prior to the festival's beginning~_

 

Juvia swam, increasing her speed until she felt as though she would break the sound barrier. Her hair  _whooshed_  in the water and her tail flapped faster than she believed she could force it. Her arms ached after being held at a point above her head for the majority of the day. In one word, her description would be: exhausted.

"And, your trial time is over!"

After one of the coordinators yelled, Juvia immediately quit moving, enjoying the sensation of rest. Her limbs roared at the sudden change, and a burning fire in her muscles promised aches and pains the next few days. Despite her overexertion, she felt elated after spending all day in her element, in water. She floated to the top of the glass tank, finally breaking the surface, and wiggled out of her mermaid tail. Flinging the tail overboard, she then hoisted herself over the rim and onto a plush mattress the crew had placed on the floor for her.

"Good job, Miss Juvia," the coordinator complimented, handing her a warm towel. "You fit the mermaid ideal to a tee. As I have said before, although this exercise seems fruitless, it-"

"Prepares me for swimming the whole day and greeting kids," Juvia finished, a smile on her face as she relished in the warmth the towel provided her with. "I know. Will swimming and waving be the only things I do?"

"No. During the parade, you will have a special place, and although you will not be swimming, you will have to smile and wave for a few hours. Throughout the festival week, you will alternate between resting on something like a rock or a decorated chair, or swimming in the water. I have been told of your incredible water magic abilities, so I have incorporated some moves into the overall choreography, especially during the festival."

"What moves will you have me do?"

"We will focus on that tomorrow. The day after that, we will put everything together and go over last minute checklists, and then it will be showtime! Trust me when I say that you will be marvelous."

Juvia blushed at the complement. "Thank you."

After hugs were exchanged, the two parted ways, and Juvia observed how all the crew members had finished their duties and left the warehouse. As she walked back towards the apartments, she reviewed everything that had happened over the past few weeks.

_So much has changed..._

As she walked through a familiar street, she noticed a hooded figure walk out of a building. A suspicious figure left Matilda's store! Juvia felt protective of Matilda's store, due to her fondness of the owner. After making sure the person was gone, she walked over to the store. When she looked for a place of forced entry, she felt shocked that the walls were in tact and the door was still locked.

_How odd..._

Juvia remembered that she was given a key, so she unlocked the door and quietly slipped into the pitch black room. After lighting a few lamps, she checked everywhere, but noticed that nothing was out of place since her last visit, except for one book on a shelf in the corner of the room.  _Secret Passage,_  the book with an odd title that Matilda had advised her not to read, was slightly tilted, and the dust covering the book had a few imprints on it that looked suspiciously like fingerprints.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, and Juvia ducked under the nearby librarian's desk. A person moved across the room, turning off the lamps with a soft  _clink._  When the footsteps stopped right in front of the desk Juvia was hiding under, she held her breath as she heard the lamp above her head click off, and the room was once again plunged in darkness.

Remembering herself, Juvia turned into her misty water form and began moving towards the door, keeping a close eye on the figure still at the librarian's desk. Right as she approached the door, the figure turned and stared at her. She ran out of the door, not once looking back until she arrived at her hotel. After spending a few minutes calming her skyrocketing heartbeat, she smoothed down her hair and walked through the doors.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When she arrived at her room, she felt surprised that no one was there.

_Surely Evergreen is done with her work by now..._

Laughter erupted from a nearby room, sounding suspiciously like her nakama. She followed the loud conversation to the boys' room, and hesitantly knocked on the door.

_Maybe they don't want me to hang out with them right now-_

"Juvia!" Evergreen greeted, opening the door and dragging the other woman inside. "I was just explaining to these  _idiots_  that we need to cook in tonight to save some money, and since their room has a kitchen and ours doesn't, we need to use their room."

"But our room will smell like your nasty cooking!" Bickslow dramatically wailed, his babies chanting "nasty cooking" while circling their master.

"My cooking smells  _and tastes_  great! I have no idea what that insult was for!"

"It's the truth! You can't cook!"

"WHY YOU- I'LL ATTACK YOU MYSELF!"

"A-ano, if I could just say something..." Juvia timidly began, reaching her hand forward.

"And furthermore, your cooking is even worse than mine!"

"At least I've accepted that I can't cook! I can live on eating out!"

"It's too expensive!"

"E-excuse me-"

"What, you're too poor to afford take-out? Poor Evergreen- _chan_."

"Chan?! Who do you think you are, calling me that?!"

"What, only Elfman can call you that?!"

"Why, you-"

Both people felt electricity tingle their spines. "Will you took stop bickering? It's annoying," Laxus interjected, his hand still raised. "'Sides, Juvia here's offerin' to cook for us, so none of us have to cook."

"B-but Laxus, I can cook," Freed dejectedly offered, jutting out his bottom lip.

"Then join 'er. I'm not stoppin' you."

"Thank you Laxus!" Freed exclaimed, holding Laxus in a bear hug.

"Can you get offa me now?"

"But-"

The door slamming caught everyone's attention. "Where's Juvia going?" Bickslow asked.

"Did we do anything to upset her?" Freed added, concern etched across his face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next twenty minutes were filled with anxiety and pacing as the Thunder Legion wondered what they had done to upset their comrade. "What if she felt out of place?"

"What if she didn't want to cook?"

What if-"

The door opened again, and Juvia walked in with a bright smile on her face. "I'm back!"

"Juvia!" Freed exclaimed, glomping the surprised woman. "Please don't leave us!"

"W-what? There was nothing to cook with, so I went to the store... Why would I leave?" Juvia replied, confusion laced in her voice.

"O-oh, if that's the case..."

Freed let go of Juvia, and she walked into the kitchen. While she was setting everything up, the others relaxed and began to watch more on the television lacrima. After half an hour, Bickslow shot up from his napping spot on the bed. "You guys, didn't Juvia blow up Fairy Hills' kitchen the last time she cooked there?" Bickslow questioned. The three others looked at him, realizing that Juvia could cook as much as Evergreen. Horror dawned across their faces.

Thinking fast, Freed jumped up and appeared beside Juvia in the kitchen. "Can I help you cook?" Freed offered, nearly snatching the spatula out of her hand.

"No, I'll be alright, but you can set the table if you want. We'll need a fork, a spoon, and a knife for each person."

Freed expertly set the table, using every ounce of etiquette he knew. The table's setting looked divine, like a masterpiece from a magazine.

Oh! We also need some salad," Juvia added, right as she shut the oven and began mixing a dark substance in a pot.

"I have finished setting the table and making the salad. Is there anything else I can do to help you cook dinner?" Freed suggested, again reaching for the ladle she was holding over the  _dangerously_ hot stove.

"I suppose you can get everyone a drink..." she responded, pointing to the cabinet with the glasses in it. "I would just like some water, please."

"O-okay..."

"I want booze!" Bickslow cheered,  pumping his fist in the air.

"Give him water! The idiot doesn't know what's good for him and what's not. I just want water. I have to keep this figure in the best shape in order to keep my title of Queen of the Fairies!" Evergeen answered, ghosting over her frame with her hands.

"Booze," Laxus grunted, not even casting a glance away from the lacrima he was watching.

Once Freed completed his task, he approached Juvia once more. "Are you sure there's nothing-"

"Dinner is ready!" Juvia announced, carrying a casserole pan out of the oven. She set it down on a hot pad just as the others sat down at the table. When she took off the cover, Bickslow felt his mouth water just looking at the meal. "It's lasagna," Juvia announced, answering the unasked question. A large scoop in hand, she began serving everyone a hearty helping of the pasta. She then grabbed the salad bowl and passed it around the table. Soon enough, everyone had plenty on their plate.

"Enjoy your meal!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"...And then the other guy said, 'whatcha thinking?!'"

The table erupted with laughter, the group of Fairy Tail members grinning at each other like children. It was well past time for everyone to sleep, but the friends were enjoying their quality time together. When it became quiet at the table, Freed cleared his throat. "Well, Juvia, that truly was an exceptional meal. Thank you."

Juvia blushed and looked at the table. "Thank you," she meekly replied.

The energy in the room shifted, and once Bickslow yawned, a chain yawn began. Evergreen then turned to Juvia and said, "Juvia dear, I'm going to the room to get some beauty sleep. You coming with me?"

"Yeah."

The women stood up, and as Freed held the door open for them, Bickslow yelled, "You're gonna need more than ten hours of beauty sleep to help, Evergreen!"

"Oh can it you big sock."

With the two girls in their room and the boys in theirs, the five changed into their pajamas and crawled into bed. In minutes, everyone was asleep, and their minds drifted through their dreams.


	19. And So It Begins

_~24 hours prior to the festival's beginning~_

 

As the last day to practice separately from the parade, everyone was working overtime. The first wave to leave work left at eight, a surprising time. The other days, the last few left before eight ever hit. But now? Those were the lucky ones. Another group left at ten, and only a few were left. When did they leave? At midnight. Juvia stepped out of her changing room, her sweatpants and messy bun emphasizing the exhaustion evident on her face. As she passed the tank she spent all day practicing in, her brain swam with all the new moves and complex instructions she learned that day.

She trudged to the last office illuminated, seeing Evergreen pouring over drawings and papers on the table, with fabrics and unfinished outfits strewn about the room. Juvia thought of knocking and bringing the fairy with her to the hotel, but when she noticed Evergreen's piercing concentration, she knew that disturbing an artist in the middle of her inspired mania would not end well.

 

She passed floats already somewhat set up in the main street, feeling the warm hum of Freed's rune magic softly resonating off the floats and comforting her. A flash of light alerted her, and when she approached the source, Laxus was found working on fireworks, meticulously arranging a set in its box. As she turned to leave and not disturb his work, his voice stopped her.

"So you're still up?" he softly said, his eyes not leaving his work.

"Yes," she responded. "I was on my way home."

"What about Ever?"

"Still working. Freed and Bickslow?"

"Left a little bit ago. We're all tired."

Juvia noticed his drooping eyes. "Then walk back with me," she invited. "This can wait. Ever is in the middle of a creative burst, but you can put this down and come back."

Laxus' eyes snapped to hers, his hands frozen. When his eyes slowly drifted back to the firework in his hands, he tried to continue working on it until a porcelain hand grasped his, and gently forced him to set it back down in the box. "Come with me," she softly ordered, reminding him of the blonde woman of his childhood, kind and firm all at once. Gone too soon. If only he had had more time with his mother...

Her blue eyes brought him back to the present. He stood up, not letting go of her hand. Some times, tiredness brings out the child in everyone. Her eyebrows pinched, the unspoken question left unanswered as he began to walk towards the hotel. The silence acted as a comforting blanket as the moon led its children back to their beds, the two not parting from the others' side until they reached her door.

As the two hands regretfully let go, an understanding glance was shared, and they entered their own rooms. Freed and Bickslow lain in the room, deep in sleep. It took only moments for Laxus to join them, and Juvia's eyes remained shut as soon as she plopped onto her bed.

 

* * *

 

The next day started slow, but _way_  too early. At 5, Juvia was in the warehouse again, already running into people who, like her, felt they had so much left to do. She knocked on Evergreen's door, opening it with care. Her friend had fallen asleep sitting at the table. In front of her, Juvia set down a cup of coffee and a small sac, containing a pastry. Evergreen perked up at the rich mocha smell, and gave a grateful nod to Juvia. As Juvia left the room, the sewing machine whirred to life again, and Evergreen was already focused and working again.

It was crunch time.

Juvia approached her tank, and stripped to her swim suit. Practice makes perfect, and Juvia wanted the festival to go perfectly. After a few hours of practicing the tougher moves, Mac approached her, and requested she join him in one of the changing rooms. When she entered the room––which, was large enough to actually be her personal dressing room, just as large as her bedroom––Evergeen was waiting for her, multiple outfits displayed by her side, still on the mannequins.

"Hey Juv, these outfits should fit you perfectly. And this is the crown jewel of your outfits!" Evergreen announced, proudly holding up the mermaid tail.

"Juvia, will you please put on the mermaid outfit, and then go back to the tank? You should practice with that extra weight on you," Mac requested.

Juvia grapped the tail from Evergreen, the two women sharing a brief squeeze of hands, the solidarity not lost between the two. As assumed, the outfit fit perfectly, and although it weighed on her, Juvia felt so  _right_  and  _free_  as she swam in the tank. Mac and Evergreen looked at her in awe, knowing that she did not need to play the main character to steal the show.

 _Wait for the boys to see her,_ Evergeen thought.  _Perhaps this will be what opens his eyes to his feelings, the oblivious lug._

\-----------------

 

The Fairy Tail group had hoped to be able to spend time together on the day before the parade, but they were not able to even spend lunch together. The rest of the day was a flurry of orders and last-minute rehearsals, the sun still awake even as evening fell and the floats all gathered in the streets. Everyone was in place as Juvia was led by Mac to the float at the very end of the parade, the largest and most grand float. Her spot was in the shell throne atop it, decorated in so much beauty that she felt as thought she wouldn't be able to compare to its splendor.

The city was illuminated with bright orbs of all different colors, although yellow was the most prominent one. If Juvia got close to one, she could feel Laxus' magic radiating off of them. There were orbs scattered about her float, and a few right beside her ocean throne. Being that close gave her a few different feelings: comfort, from the presence of her nakama's magic; on edge, because lightning can seriously hurt water; and something else, a feeling in the pit of herself that made her nervous and a ease all at once. She was not ready to think about, and especially not ready to name  _that_  feeling yet.

A rocking float brought her out of her musings. It groaned and then flew up to the sky, swinging above the other floats as if held by an invisible string. Bickslow standing atop it made her realize whose fault it was for the runaway float, but on second thought, it seemed to be planned that he was controlling the float of clouds and rainbows, making it a spectacle that will hover above the crowd.

Freed was giving commands on the ground, pointing at different places. He walked over to Mac and the two spoke briefly before splitting apart again. As he was reaching Juvia, he began saying, "Juvia, are you ready?"

She looked at him with wide eyes, her hands wringing as she bit her lip.  _No,_  she thought. Her eyes betrayed her thoughts, and Freed cupped her hands in his own. "You will do fantastically," he encouraged, his voice barely more than a whisper. "You are the star, and you fit the part perfectly. I hope you recognize this, Juvia. Besides, we will be with you the whole way."

He let go of her, and gestured toward the path of sand that led up the float to her throne. "Shall we, m'lady?"

She giggled in response, and began her ascent. She reached the throne, but it took a bit to figure out how to move her dress so that she could sit. After some shuffling of her ornate outfit (beautifully done by Evergreen, who apparantly was a designer genius), Juvia settled into her spot.

"Places!"

People shuffled as they went to their spots, and the crowd had reached an enormous group, packing the streets with more people than lived in the town. The moon shone above them all, refreshing Juvia and giving her more strength. Her water powers began to work on the float, the water glossing around in intricate designs and bedazzling her float.

It had been Freed's idea to use her water powers to emphasize the "Queen-of-the-Sea" vibe they were going for. Water pipes burst from all different hidden spots in her float. On the float itself, the water simply ebbed and flowed as though a small creek would. Above her float, the water formed the Fairy Tail guild symbol. That had been Bickslow's idea, and Mac had thoroughly supported the idea of displaying where they were from.

Looking around, Juvia saw a lightning streak zoom around, landing on the ground beside one of Laxus' orbs. He formed from his lightning, and looked around. He and Freed shared a word, as Bickslow and Evergreen joined them. The four chatted briefly, all focused on the parade. Evergreen said something, and then all four stared up at Juvia. She felt bashful in their gaze, but she smiled and waved at them. Freed raised his thumb and finger in the Fairy Tail sign they all knew, and the other three joined them.

Mac said something, and three of them dispersed to their assigned positions. Suddenly, the clock struck midnight. Juvia looked down into the streets. The crowd's cheers filled her ears, and as she looked over the crowd, her smile grew wide and genuine. They all came to see this, to see  _her_.

Fireworks erupted all around her, making her jump in surprise. Laxus was still standing in the street. His hands were moving around, controlling the fireworks' flight. The fireworks were so amazing, surpassing anything she had ever seen with fireworks. Green, blue, and yellow seemed to be the most prominent colors. When a lightning bolt joined the firework display, her breath seemed to escape her. She stared at it in awe, so beautiful and deadly all at once. She looked at Laxus, and saw his resemblance to his lightning.

Laxus halted his work, done with that group of fireworks, but didn't stop looking in the same direction. His focus had changed, now on Juvia, as though he was seeing her for the first time. Although she did not know, the moon was behind her, as though claiming her as its child and displaying her as its queen. With her crown and throne and gown, she really did look regal. The fireworks all around her seemed to illuminate her, and seeing her enveloped in his magic made his gut feel all sorts of odd. For a few moments, time stopped and the world seemed to melt away as the two continued looking into each others' eyes.

Suddenly, the clock struck midnight. Laxus was shaken out of his stupor, and he turned back into lightning, zipping about the orbs throughout the parade so to make sure that all his handiwork was working according to plan.

Juvia looked back down, wishing that the moment had never ended. Her stomach churned with the unspoken question blaring in her mind. The floats ahead had already started moving, and with a lurch, her float began moving too. She shook her head, and focused instead on waving at the jubilant crowd as her float began its journey.

The parade had begun.

 


	20. Day One

Juvia felt as though she was a part of a fairy tale. The blur of lights and cheers and crowds as she paraded about the city left her breathless, especially the lightning intermingling with the fireworks display. She could have sworn she saw Matilda in the crowd, next to the mayor. Her eyesight must have betrayed her, because the next moment they disappeared into the roaring crowd. She did not spot any of her guildmates during the parade, but they had other jobs, so she did not feel upset.

Dawn broke just as the parade ended, having circled the town's main streets and ending in the same area where Juvia had ran to when upset. The floats encircled the sole cherry blossom tree, so beautiful and pink. Her float, the end of the parade, finally halted right in front of the tree. Suddenly, the crowd fell silent, as everyone admired the tree for exactly three minutes. Just as abruptly as it began, it ended, and the crowd once more cheered. The people then parted ways, and all went different directions.

Juvia was led off her float by Mac, before being brought back to her hotel. "Get some rest, you'll need it," he encouraged. "You will need to be back at the warehouse around noon, so you won't get much sleep. I'm afraid that the whole week of festivities will be like that."

"Well, thank you," Juvia replied. She trudged up the stairs before completely collapsing on her bed, not even bothering to change clothes before drifting into sleep.

\-----------------------------------------------

It felt as though only a few minutes had passed before she felt herself being shaken awake. She turned and saw Evergreen, as tired as Juvia, gently nudging her awake. "Juvia, you should not have slept in that outfit, it surely was uncomfortable. You will not get a break from fancy outfits this week, and for that I apologize. You will look so gorgeous, but will not feel so pleasant in the fabrics."

"What is my outfit for today?" Juvia asked as she groggily stood up. Evergreen pointed to the silky white robe laid out on the chair. "The robe with cherry blossom petals."

"Just that?!"

"You will change at the warehouse into your actual outfit. For now, that will suffice. Meet me downstairs in ten, I will grab you some food while I wait."

With that, Evergreen left the room. Juvia quickly dressed and left the room, anxious to get to the warehouse and into something a little more... appropriate.

_I feel so naked in this. One wrong move, and I am exposed to the world. Literally._

She sprinted out of her room, hoping to avoid all people. Instead, she smacked right into someone. "Oh, sorry!"

"Nah, it's fine Juvia," Laxus responded, looking at her in an odd manner. Just as she began to try to walk away from the awkwardness, Laxus cleared his throat. "Hey, you loo- I mean, you did a good job. Last night," he awkwardly complimented, scratching the back of his neck.

"T-thanks."

"Uh, you wearin' _that_ as your festival outfit?" he questioned, looking at how it went to barely mid-thigh and dipped low at her chest.

"And if I am?"

"Doesn't seem too appropriate." He inched towards her.

"Why would you care?" She closed in.

"You're nakama and all, y'know, gotta watch out for each other," he whispered, their breaths mingling as they were separated by barely half a foot.

She raised an eyebrow and taunted, "Oh, so you've been watching me?"

At that comment, he glanced down and a blush dawned on his face. He coughed and took a few steps back, breaking whatever moment they just had by coughing uncomfortably. She stared at him for a minute before continuing, "This is not my final outfit. I will change at the warehouse, and if all goes well, you will be the only person to see me in this, disregarding Ever. As roommates, I believe we have nothing left to shield from the other's gaze."

His blush increased, and he muttered a nearly incomprehensible "gotta go" before walking off.

Juvia felt an odd rush of pride from making him so bashful, but was quickly mortified at her gall. She rushed downstairs and grabbed Evergreen's hand, practically sprinting to the warehouse. Once they reached Juvia's dressing room, she finally relaxed. "What was that all about?" Evergreen questioned, breathing heavily from their brief exercise. "And why are you blushing?"

"Oh, it is quite invigorating to jog, right?" Juvia shyly answered, knowing that it was a stupid reason. Evergreen raised an eyebrow, but chose not to comment.

"Alright. Today you will be swimming in a glass stadium for people to watch. Change into your mermaid outfit and meet Mac near the back door of the warehouse. He will lead you from there. Good luck! We'll be cheering you on from the sidelines!"

With that, Evergreen left Juvia. Doing as told, Juvia arrived at the back door. Mac, standing at the closed glass door, smiled when he saw her approach. "Darling, you look stunning! The crowd is so excited. This door leads to a room you will enter. Once this door is sealed, the other will open right at the floor of the aquarium-like stadium. Have fun! I know you will be amazing!"

He pranced away, and she stepped into the room. The door shut, and she slipped on the tail. The other opened. Water flooded her, and her spirits instantly felt lifted. She took a few deep breaths, and then began to swim into the arena. She broke the surface and flipped mid-air, hearing a deafening cheer as she made her entrance. The sport stadium had a large bubble of water floating in it, and the enormous seating was filled with an overwhelmingly large crowd.

_The whole town must be here. I hope I do well..._

For a creature of the water, she seemed to soar as though she belonged in the air. She flipped and twisted as if she would sprout wings and fly away. The moment seemed to stand still and pass by all at once, as if Time wanted to admire the ethereal beauty in front of it.

Her fellow guildmates were awe-struck at this side of her they had never seen before. In all honesty, she had surprised herself. Not even she thought she was capable of doing anything like this. All too soon, the routine ended, and she exited back into the chamber she came from as the crowd clamored for more.

Her heart hadn't stopped racing and her smile hadn't vanished. Mac walked up to her just as she was walking toward her changing room, his expression lit up. "Darling, that was fabulous! You are exquisite– just as I knew you would be." He hugged her, and for a moment, his flamboyant exterior melted into a softer one, and she worried for just a second that he might cry. Swiftly, he bounced back to his theatrical self, and ushered her along to a different side of the warehouse.

"First, we will show you off to the crowds and have you talk to the organizers. Then, about thirty minutes with the kids before a cocktail hour with adults. A chance for relaxation, I'm sure you will like that. And-"

"Show me off? I am not an item. I wish to spend more time with the children."

Mac sighed and looked at her, a soft half-smile towards her. After a moment, he said, "I'm glad you feel that way. I would like you to spend a lot of your time with the children, if that's okay."

"I would love to!"

Mac ushered her to another direction, beaming at her change in plans. She had to change tails into one that was more decorative and less practical than the one she swam in. When she looked around to find Evergreen, she felt disappointed that she could not find her friends. He made a few lacrima calls, and Juvia thought she heard Evergreen's voice. Once he finished, they left the warehouse and arrived at the town's main square, the same spot where she had ran to when upset. A large sand pile was set up near the water fountain, with her throne from the parade float atop it.

Waiting beside her throne was Laxus, dressed in a merman's guard outfit. Evergreen was fussing about one of the seaweed straps flung across his shoulder. With two diagonal seaweed straps and a tail-looking skirt of sorts, he left little to the imagination with his ripped body. His tail was an ombre from dark blue (which looked suspiciously like Juvia's hair color) to purple, and Juvia knew she was staring. She couldn't look away. He even held a trident, as gold as his hair. Bickslow was in the same outfit, and the two were on either side of her throne.

Freed approached Evergreen and the two spoke for a second before he walked over towards Juvia. "Juvia, your performance was incredible! I knew you would be great." He turned toward Mac. "Everything is in order here, although it was a bit last-minute. I wish to stay here with my friends and let you check around the rest of the festival, if that is alright."

Mac nodded. "Of course! Go right along, and contact me if you need anything!" He pranced away, leaving the two.

Freed looked at Juvia. "You really do look lovely."

"Evergreen did a magnificent job."

"And even if she hadn't, my compliment would still be true. It is not the outfit that makes you look good, but you who makes the outfit look good." Freed offered his elbow to Juvia. "Shall we, m'lady?"

Juvia giggled. "Of course, good sir."

The pair strolled through the growing crowd of children and parents to her throne. Evergreen immediately came up to her and fiddled with her top. "That was amazing! I am so glad the outfit worked out for you. Do you like our boys? They look quite..." she glanced at Laxus and Bickslow with a cheeky smile. "Interesting."

Laxus grumbled in response, and Bickslow just uncomfortably fixed the seaweed on his chest. Freed and Evergreen helped Juvia get situated, and the group took a moment to look at each other in disbelief. They were actually doing this.

Evergreen smiled and patted Juvia's cheek. "Freed and I will be in the crowd, making sure everything goes as planned. Laxus and Bickslow are also here for you if you need something, so don't hesitate to ask."

With that, the duo left their three bedazzled guildmates on top of the sand pile. Evergreen started organizing children in a line, and the first child approached Juvia as the parent readied his camera. "May I sit in your lap, miss?"

Juvia felt her heart melt a little. "Of course, dear."

The parent snapped a few pictures, and they left as the next child approached. Some asked for pictures with one of her "bodyguards" or the whole group. At one point, a young teenage boy advanced towards her with a red face. He held out his hand toward her and shyly said, "Would you do me the honor of taking a picture of us dancing together, princess?" Juvia was unsure, but she took his hand and was yanked against him. He held her left hand as if they were slow dancing, and his right hand landed surprisingly low on her hip. The parent snapped a picture just as he asked Juvia if he could be her first dance at the ball that week. Laxus quickly broke them apart.

"Dude, what's your issue?"

"Gotta keep the line moving,  _boy_."

"I am not a boy, and I'm not scared of you."

"Oh yeah? Lemme change that."

"Why don't you-"

"Juvia!" a woman cheered, diving through the crowd and cutting off the line of children to get to the mermaid. The chef from the charming café butted in between the three, happily picking Juvia up and swinging her around. "I want to ask if I can have the honor of having your first dance at the ball! I know it's sudden, but I would love to dance with you."

Juvia laughed, relief coloring her face. "I would love too as well." She leaned into a hug with the chef, and whispered a quiet "thank you" into her ear. During their interaction, Bickslow was able to usher the teenage boy away and scold Laxus for a few seconds before them both returning to their positions.

The rest of the day went without a hitch, and as dinnertime rolled around the crowd was told that the meet-and-greet was over. "Come back again, she will do more meet-and-greets throughout the festival!" Evergreen announced as Freed was steering the crowd away. Once all had left, the five Fairy Tail members felt that they could breathe again. They joined each other in the middle of the square. "Are we done for the day?" Juvia asked.

"I believe so," Freed replied. "We should take this opportunity to go through the vendors and see some of what people are selling. It is dinnertime, and I believe we all have enough money for ourselves."

Juvia felt embarrassed. "Except me, I'm afraid. I was unaware I would need money," Juvia shyly confessed.

"I'll cover you," Laxus said.

"O-oh, thank you, Laxus," she replied, a faint blush on her cheeks at his generosity.

He nodded, and with that the group was off towards the stands in the streets. As they went through the streets, the group broke off until Juvia and Laxus were the only ones left in the group. The browsed the food street until coming upon a small fried food stand. Both agreed it sounded good, and they munched on their dinner as the sun began to set in front of them.

Once done, the duo continued through the vendors, Juvia admiring trinkets and little things while Laxus looked uninterested. "Oh, this is amazing!" she cheered, holding up a blue pendant necklace. "Look, Laxus!" He hummed in response.

The vendor smiled. "Ah, you will buy a necklace for your girlfriend like a good boyfriend, right?" he slyly pressured, eager to sell something.

"We're not-" Juvia began.

"Yer necklace isn't that valuable. If I bought her anything, it'd be something of value. C'mon Juvia."

Laxus guided Juvia away from the stand, but her expression was perplexed. "Why didn't you tell him we weren't a couple?"

"Don't have to. He doesn't need to know. 'Sides, it's not an insult for someone t' think you'd pick me. I take it as a compliment."

"Really?" she hesitantly asked, her past insecurities rearing up inside her head.

"You are the main player of this festival. You are insanely powerful and even S-Class worthy, and just as good-looking as the other Fairy Tail girls. Why wouldn't it be a compliment?"

Juvia blushed. "I hadn't thought of it like that."

"Besides, I only have so much money."

"Oh, so that's the real reason, huh?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, you caught me. I'm stingy."

"At least you remembered to bring money with you. I left mine in my room."

"You wanna head back there?"

"That sounds nice. We didn't get much sleep last night, so I feel like turning in early."

He dipped his head in agreement, and the duo strolled through the beautiful streets. "Your lighting is incredible. Not a single dim area, but nothing too blinding."

He looked at her in the light, noticing how it seemed to compliment her hair color. "As intended."

She giggled. "But of course."

The two arrived at the hotel, and both looked at the other. "I had fun tonight with you," she said.

"Yeah."

They stood in comfortable silence, neither moving towards their door.

"If it ain't Laxus!" Bickslow exclaimed, opening his door and grabbing his arm. "C'mon man, we gotta work on our bodyguard routine." He winked at Juvia. "We're gonna do ballet next time."

She laughed. "Is that so?'

Bickslow sniggered as Laxus broke out of his grip.

"Well," she continued after she giggled, "I'm going to bed. Goodnight, both of you."

With that, she went into her room and left the boys to their shenanigans. She changed into her snug pajamas, and peacefully drifted off to sleep soon after her head hit the pillow, ending their first full day of the festival.


	21. Explosion

"Excuse me, but the mermaid's meet-and-greet today is over! Come back tomorrow for the last one, and don't forget to stay for the grand finale of the festival tomorrow night!" Freed called, cupping one hand on his mouth while the other held a pad of paper.

The children in line looked disappointed, but Juvia felt elated that she was done. As much as she enjoyed the children, everyone gets tired of being entertainment eventually. As soon as the last person left, Laxus walked away from her throne.

"Laxus!" she called out, but it was too late. He had disappeared in the direction of the warehouse, where his changing room was.

Bickslow stayed where he was, helping Juvia down from her spot by offering his hand like a gentleman. Somewhere in the midst of the mission, Juvia had come to find a chivalrous side to the normally crass man. She was pleasantly surprised by the hidden sides of him.

She looked forlornly in the direction that Laxus went off in. Turning to Bickslow, Juvia asked, "Did I do something to upset him?"

Bickslow looked back with an expressionless helmet. "Why would you think that?"

"He's been avoiding me."

"Uh, well it's not so much that you specifically rather that he, uh-"

"He just misses seeing the group," Freed interrupted, seeming very composed and in charge. Being the organizer suited him. "You know how busy she's been, what with insisting on making a new and equally exquisite ensemble for each event that you go to, and none of us are used to spending that much time away from the others in the Thunder God Tribe."

"Anyways," he continued, "Juvia, you have enough time to go change into a nice dress and grab a sandwich from the meeting room in the warehouse before you must go to the cocktail hour, this night with only the VIPs of the town."

_Fun. The party never ends..._

"When am I done with that?" she asked, exhaustion evident in her voice and the way her whole body sagged.

"Late. Don't worry, tomorrow is the last day, and then we go back to the guild."

_The guild. Where Gray is. What could go wrong? Oh yeah, lots of things._

Despite how she was feeling, she sucked it up and did what she had gotten used to doing that week: smiling and playing the part that was given to her, a graceful and cheerful mermaid. No matter her mood, she had to put on a show for everyone, lest she spoil their festival and give Fairy Tail a bad reputation as being unsatisfying for its customers.

She did not realize just how bad her mood would affect her until everything came to an explosive head later that night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The day had been long. Thankfully, Juvia was near the end of her last event before bedtime, her favorite part of each day during this tiring week. Although it was tough to be that busy, Juvia enjoyed every minute of it (excluding her comrades' absence, which she dismissed as simply them being busy) and was both looking forward to and dreading the end of it all. After all, she only had one more night after this one, which was already just about over as the clock kept ticking towards midnight.

She was holding her fruity drink and speaking with Matilda who, despite being a bookstore owner, was considered important enough to be invited to the cocktail hours that the mayor hosted. Juvia noticed that the two seemed quite close, and briefly wondered if the two were a couple. However, their friendliness seemed familial more so than romantic, and so Juvia brushed it aside as something that was not her business to pry into.

Just then, Laxus walked in. "Laxus!" she called, waving her hand in his direction. He turned his head the other direction and walked into a different room. Juvia huffed but was determined to confront him.

_This is ridiculous, and I'm tired of it. If he won't come to me, I'll go to him._

She stood up and marched in that direction as Matilda and the mayor watched with apprehension, giving each other a concerned look. They knew better than most how explosive quarrels between friends — especially special friends like those two, no matter how much they denied it — could be. Juvia entered the room and found Laxus in the back corner with a bimbo on either arm. One of them laughed obnoxiously at something he said and Juvia felt her anger rising.

_He ignores me, his guildmate and I had hoped friend, for two floozies?! What other "important" things has he been ignoring me for?! I'll show him the meaning of thunder and lightning._

She laughed in an obviously fake manner and flipped her hair to the side as she approached the group. "Oh Laxus, you're just so funny," she says in a nasally voice, flicking her hand down on the last word and displaying her impressively sharp nails.

"And who are you?" the redhead rudely says.

"Juvia, his guildmate and the main event of this festival. I play the mermaid. And who are you? I thought this party was only for  _important_  people," Juvia sneered, a glint in her eyes that promised hell for all who crossed her.

Some people just are not that bright and cannot spot danger in a person.

"I am a  _very_  successful model for the best brand in the whole town."

"So am I!" the other girl pipped up, her hand waving drunkenly in the air. "I won the award for best swimsuit model last year."

"Well  _I_  was nominated as second place  _and_  won the competition for best dressed."

"Well  _I_ -"

"Laxus," Juvia began, interrupting the two bickering women, "May I have a word with you? In  _private_."

Laxus grunted and gave her a questioning look. Despite the bimbos' complaints, he stood up and brushed them off his arms.

"Why go with her?!"

"Come on, we're so much better!"

"Oh, and by the way," Juvia said, addressing the two girls, "I won best swimsuit model in the whole Fairy Tail guild, against Titania and Mirajane. You two mean  _nothing_  to Laxus, and if any one of us were to have him, it would be _me_ , so buzz off," she snapped, her eyes pointed sharp at the other two girls.

Juvia marched over to an unattended corner and turned around, waiting for Laxus to join her.

"What'd ya want? I don't normally see you that angry," Laxus said, keeping a neutral expression and voice.

"What do I want? So _now_ it's about me? I  _want_  you to stop avoiding me! Everywhere I turn you're running away from me! I thought we had fixed our friendship, but apparently not!"

Laxus was taken aback. He swallowed and prepared to answer, but she continued. "And I thought that you- that we- that we had someth- w-well, I just..." she trailed off and sighed, obviously holding back tears. "Nevermind. Just enjoy the party. Forget I said anything."

With that, she turned away and practically ran from him, desperate to avoid him as she began to cry.

_Now I've done it. He will never want to talk to me again. Oh, I'm so stupid!_

She sadly looked around and her eyes landed on the bar, where Jez Treecap was dutifully making drinks.

_One won't hurt..._

Juvia walked over to the bar and sat down. "I'll have that drink now," she sighed to Jez, wiping the tear streaks from her cheeks.

The bartender looked at her with an eyebrow raised. "You sure? Don't want you goin' off again, scaring away all my customers."

Juvia sniffled and then wore a determined face. "Give me the hardest thing you got."

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

At one in the morning, Juvia stumbled into the hotel. Barely walking (more so swaying), she trudged her way to her hall and saw a door open. To be specific, the door across the hall from her room was open, where the boys from her guild were staying. Juvia sauntered over to the door to eavesdrop.

"And then she _went after_  those two girls. I found them later crying and could not console them."

"No way, Juvia did that?"

"I almost can't believe it."

"I couldn't find her afterwards. I looked for her, but-"

"Fat chance you cared enough to look," Juvia interrupted, swaying into the room. "I- *hic* was at the bar the w-whooooole time, a-and you didn't even nnotice mmmme," she trailed off, lazily pointing her finger at Laxus and leaning away from the wall, holding on with just her arm.

"Juvia!" Bickslow exclaimed, jumping up from his spot on the bed. "We were worried about you-"

"No you weren't. None of you ever are! When Gray yelled at me w-what did any of you do?! N-none of you were the ones that came to comfort me! All I ever gave Lucy was heartache and even she came to c-check on me! And none of you e-ever talked to me after the battle of Fairy Tail, and all you ever have said to me was making fun of my crush on Gray a-and..." Juvia trailed off into blubbering and dissolved into tears.

"Juvia, we never-"

"We apologized earlier-"

"I thought we already-"

"Enough." Lauxs's voice cut through everyone hasty rambling. "Juvia, you're drunk. Go to sleep. We can talk in the morning."

"YOU DON'T EVEN CARE ENOUGH TO BE UPSET! I can't believe you! You just say nothing and think it's all okay. W-well you know what, you're just a big, mean ol' bully, and y-you-" she hiccuped, tears beginning to fall from her eyes as a light  _pitter-patter_  started on the roof. "You- UGH!"

With that, Juvia stormed off and ran away, not even bothering to grab anything from her room. She just kept running. The group stayed in the room, shocked beyond all belief. She still was bothered by their previous actions? They thought they had fixed all of that. Laxus knew that something like this was bound to happen eventually, what with how he had been treating her, he just had not expected it to blow up while the parade was still going.

Meanwhile, Juvia ran to the warehouse and fell asleep, desperate for sleep to take her pain all away.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Juvia woke up uncomfortable. She was curled up on her fainting couch in her dressing room, which was smaller than one would think and not as plush-feeling as it looked. She yawned and stretched her arms.

_Ugh, why am I here instead of in bed? And why does my head hurt so much..._

Flashbacks of the drunken night before ran through her head, including her two blow-ups and near confession.

_Oh no. What have I done??? This is going to be disastrous. Now Laxus knows! What is he going to think of me now..._

Juvia began to sob. The rain outside made her cry harder, knowing that it was her fault that yet again that horrid rain had come.

_Freed was wrong. The rain is awful. All it means is bad things._

After almost half an hour of crying, Juvia finally trailed off and heard the rain cease to a light drizzle. She could even feel the sun shining on her through the window, which was a good sign.

_At least the day won't be ruined by me..._

Once she checked the clock and her schedule, she realized that it was almost time for an event. Juvia got up and dressed for the final water show.

_One more performance. Gotta make it count._

She took out some tools and looked at the throne from the first day. An idea sparked, and she got to work.


	22. The Last Day

Juvia looked at the clock and knew it was time. With determination written on her face, she marched over to the prep area and closed the door behind her. She looked through the glass and saw the crowd eagerly awaiting her, although many were soaked to the bone already.

_At least they anticipated getting wet anyway._

She felt her heart stop when she saw all four of her guildmates sitting in the front row. Laxus even had a guilty look on his face, although only when he thought no one was looking.

 _Showtime_.

She opened the door and the water rushed at her, consuming the air in the room around her.

_Water. Home. Freedom._

She swam harder than ever before, doing more stunts than the crowd had seen and jumping farther out of the water than her previous performances. She was determined to make this water spectacle worthy of the crowd's elation. Once she knew she was at her physical limit, she sunk deep in the water and pressed a button.

_I hope this rig works..._

An open fake clam shell came out of the floor, slowly rising as she settled into the seat on top and quickly arranged real seashells into her hair. She hit the open air, and all eyes were on the unexpected seat. The crowd was confused as to what she intended to do. Just as their confused mumbles started to rumble, she began to sing.

~ Upon one summer's morning  
I carefully did stray  
Down by the Walls of Wapping  
Where I met a sailor gay

Come all you pretty fair maids  
Whoever you may be  
Who love a jolly sailor  
That plows the raging sea

My heart is pierced by Cupid  
I disdain all glittering gold  
There is nothing can console me  
But my jolly sailor bold ~

 

The audience was entranced. Never had she sung to them, and her song was mesmerizing. When she observed her guildmates as she sung, she noticed that Laxus's eyes were wide open and his mouth slightly parted, captivated by  _her_. Her face flushed and she quickly turned to look at someone else.

When her last note faded away into nothing, no noise happened for a few seconds. Suddenly, the crowd began roaring and cheering. Never before had she heard this magnitude of an applause, and it caused such a rush she felt as though she could burst.

She smiled and waved, beaming like an idiot while trying to hide the tears of joy. Jumping back into the water, she happily made her way back to the in-between chamber and closed the door. As soon as the drain finished clearing the room, Mac was there at the other door to greet her.

"Juvia, that was amazing! I did not know you had even built that! When _did_ you do that?" He babbled, hugging Juvia tightly in congratulations.

Juvia shyly chuckled and bashfully responded, "This morning."

His eyes grew wide. "This morning??? Girlie, you work fast. Remind me to call you up next time I have a last-minute project to get done." He paused. "Seriously though, you were fantastic, and that singing stunt at the end? Just what we needed. Your voice is stellar, and that song fit your mermaid persona to a T."

"Well thank you. What's next on the agenda for today?"

"Well, there's your last meet-and-greet after lunch and then the big celebration tonight, but you're free until then. Enjoy yourself!"

She saw her guildmates rush into the warehouse and make a beeline for her. She panicked.

"U-uh, actually, why don't we go look around? I'm sure there's a lot of interesting things that you could show me, r-right?"

He looked shocked, a blush creeping up his cheeks. "O-of course, Miss Juvia." He cleared his throat and offered her his arm. "Right this way, m'lady."

The duo walked out the opposite end of the warehouse and began to explore the vendors, Juvia acutely aware of the pair of eyes that bore into her skull as she walked away from her guildmates.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

It worked for a while, avoiding her teammates. But the town was only so big, and it took all of her effort to duck away from them when she would see one. Mac was extremely polite and gentlemanly to her, making her wish for a man to treat her that way.

_But this is not the time. Now is about me. Romance is not an option. Not after Gray, and certainly not after-_

Lightning struck all around them, causing panic in the surrounding crowd.

"Juvia," it rumbled. "We gotta talk."

Laxus appeared in between Juvia and Mac, separating the two. He turned to the other male and said, "Don't you have something to go do?"

"Not that I know of-"

Laxus gave him a stern look.

"A-ah, yes I actually do. Miss Juvia, adieu!"

He scampered away, not wanting to get in between the mages' confrontation.

"Juvia."

She turned toward him, almost turning to water at the sight of him, lightning crackling around him as he towered above her. "Now who's the one bein' avoided?" he teased, his rumbling and light comment surprising Juvia. "Seriously, what's going on? What's wrong?"

Juvia sighed, knowing the conversation was inevitable. "Why have you been avoiding me? Am I really that repulsive?"

Laxus was surprised and gave her a pitying look. "'Course not. I- I've just been busy, that's all."

"No you haven't," she responded, tired of his excuses. "All your events coincide with mine. I know your schedule."

"Busy thinking about stuff."

"Like what?"

He paused. "Haven't figured that out yet."

A semi-comfortable silence fell. "So..." he trailed off. "Are we good?"

She sighed. "Yes. Sorry for my outburst last night."

"Sorry for making you think I didn't like you."

Silence settled. Hard. Laxus turned and looked pointedly at something. "That store looks shifty, and someone looking even shiftier just came out of it."

Juvia looked in the same direction. "Oh, I know the owner of that place. She even gave me a key. Oh! Why don't we go check on the place."

_I want to explore more about that odd book..._

The duo walked into the place, careful to lock it behind them. She strutted over to the book and went to pull it out. "What is this book even about anyway-"

The bookshelf shook. The book was not a book at all, but a lever connected to the bookshelf that moved the bookshelf, showing a secret passage into an underground area. They stared at the gaping hole in the wall.

"Wanna go exploring?" she asked.

"Ladies first," he teased.

"I'm honored," she sarcastically replied.

The two walked down the stone stairs. When they reached the bottom, there was only a small shrine in one corner and a large painting on the adjacent wall. Upon further inspection, the person's lacrima picture on the shrine looked eerily familiar.

"I know her from somewhere..." Juvia stated.

"Do you know where?"

**~Flashback~**

**"After all, he's lightning and you're water - together, they make a storm.."**

Juvia blushed suddenly and slapped her red cheeks, surprising and slightly scaring Laxus.

"What?!"

"I think she was this old lady on the train here that said some strange stuff to me and then... disappeared." She paused. "Wow, that sounds so weird."

"What'd she say."

"U-uh, I didn't really understand it- t-that is, I don't quite remember," she stammered, fidgeting under his scrutinizing gaze.

"You sure?"

Before she could answer, both of their lacrimas beeped. It was time for the meet-and-greet.

"Oh! We've gotta get going. C'mon!" she cheered, grabbing him by the hand and dragging him to the warehouse so they could change.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

"Whew! That was fun, but I'm glad it's over," Bickslow said, wiping the sweat off his face. "Those kids sure are a handful."

The group just finished the last meet-and-greet and had just enough time to change for the big celebration that night. It was supposed to be a grande finale to that spectacular week, and although the group was looking forward to some rest and to seeing their nakama back at the guild, they at the same time felt melancholy to be leaving the quaint and festive town.

They walked back to the warehouse to change and found a map in Juvia's dressing room. On it was a large, red "X" on the opposite side of town.

"Wonder what that could be," Evergreen said.

"That is your destination," a voice replied. Everyone jumped when a lacrima appeared with the figure of Mac Treecap on it. "Sorry to scare you guys, but if you'll follow the map, you should find where you're supposed to be. Wear the outfits laid out in Miss Juvia's dressing room and go there. Someone in your group will give you instruction upon arrival."

The lacrima screen disappeared. The group looked at each other with puzzlement but did as told.

Once they were ready, the team began the twenty-minute walk to the opposite side of town. As they approached the "X," they noticed the crowd started to get thicker and the lights began to glow brighter. Everyone but Laxus was surprised by the lighting and in awe.

Juvia heard Laxus mumble behind her, "'Course I wasn't avoiding you. Just wanted to keep it all a surprise."

She turned and looked at him with astonishment, bashful at her previous assumption.

"I'm sorry for assuming that you weren't busy."

Laxus shrugged in response and pointed toward the other three still walking, signaling that they should follow their group and go to the "X."

When they arrived there, the largest tree Juvia had ever seen stood in the middle of the crowd, who kept a reverent distance from it.

"C'mon. It's showtime," Laxus said, gently placing his hand on Juvia's waist and guiding her to a spot in the middle of the tree where the moon shone through. The mayor and the old lady from the bookshop were standing in between the pair and the crowd.

"Citizens!" the mayor boomed, his voice causing everyone else to go quiet. "It is with great pleasure that I recount the story of why this town is so special to me. This town was once torn apart by selfishness and hatred. They competed with each other on whose magic was the best, and their competition led them to low blows to prove their superiority.

"One day, a trio came to town and were horrified and disgusted with how everyone acted. Using his lost magic, the man took away the villagers' magic in hopes that the competitiveness would disappear."

"They took their tools and began to tear the city apart," Matilda continued, placing her hand on the man's shoulder. "So the man's wife used a lost magic found in an abandoned library to purify the villagers' hearts and see the error of their ways. But it was too late.

"The once beautiful city was destroyed, turned to dust and rubble. The sister used her lost magic to revive the city. The price of her magic? No one would be able to use dark magic in the city, or would disappear."

The mayor spoke again. "We tell you this as a warning to always be kind and as a reminder of the history of our town. And in thanks to those heroic people who saved our town, we light this tree in thanks."

Laxus grabbed Juvia's hands and directed them toward the sky.

"Summon all the rain you can into a bubble over the tree, and when I strike it, let it fall," he commanded.

Juvia did so, and when the lightning hit her water so hard she thought she would burst, she let the water fall. As the water passed the tree, the lightning rippled from the water into the tree, turning it a vibrant yellow. The whole in the leaves created a halo of the moon around Juvia and Laxus, and the duo turned around just in time to hear the roar of the crowd's applause.

Juvia was in awe of what they could do together.

_Maybe that old lady was right..._

She was shaken out of her thoughts by Laxus' rumbling voice. "You did great, Juvia. Knew I could count on you."

Juvia turner to Laxus, seeing him shrouded in the light from his magic. He was so powerful, so in control of that power, and not to mention,  _very_  attractive. She had fallen for him, hard.

Not that his feelings were much different. The way she had been the whole week (minus a few break-downs) had been majestic. Dancing in the water, singing that morning, interacting with the kids, and now the way she allowed and yet controlled the flow of water entranced him. She was a goddess.

The two slowly leaned forward toward the other, in a trance separate from the rowdy celebration goin on around them. Juvia fluttered her eyes, and Laxus gulped at those deep blue orbs. With their faces inches apart, their breaths mingled into one. Juvia closed her eyes and he took that as his cue to tilt slightly forward and-

Fireworks exploded. The two jumped apart, shocked out of their trance. Juvia blushed and looked away, pushing some hair behind her ear. She had never seen Laxus so red in the face.

The two stared awkwardly at each other.

"Hey you guys!" Bickslow slung himself over Laxus and stretched his hand out toward Juvia. "The beer here is great! You should try it- *hic* oh w-wait, Juvia doesn't want the alcohol. There's- uh, some grape juice for the kids? If you want it? Sorry Juv, guess no fun adult drinks for you."

"Baka." Freed hit Bickslow on the head. "We came to fetch the two of you. We wanted to have a small Fairy Tail celebration back in the hotel room."

"But what about the crowd? I can't just leave them," Juvia protested.

"Actually, you're free to go, Miss Juvia," the mayor greeted, Matilda by his side. "Your duties have been fufilled as my beautiful mermaid. My darling wife, Anastasia." The mayor had tears in his eyes. "Thank you."

"My sister would be very proud of you," Matilda said, placing a hand on Juvia's arm. "Thank you for honoring her in this way. She was a water mage like you, and I am sure you two would have got along quite well."

She leaned in close and whispered, "Now go have fun with your friends. The festival can carry on without you, now."

Juvia happily joined her nakama as they walked back to the hotel room. Everyone was exhausted, but content with their work. They popped a few bottles of drinks, told jokes and stories, and had a merry time late into the evening. At some point early in the morning, Juvia fell asleep against Evergreen.

"Baka," Laxus softly chided. "I'll take her back to your room, Ever."

Laxus picked up the water mage and gently carried her over to her bed. With the door shut behind him, he studied her angelic face and reveled in her beautiful scent.  _Stupid heightened smell. Can't get enough of her_.

"And what are you doing?" Evergreen questioned, her arms crossed as she stared at the startled Laxus. As he stuttered and tried to find words, Evergreen chuckled and shook her head. "I won't tell. Just be careful. Who knows what will happen when she and Gray talk things out back at the guild."

A jealous grimace bloomed on his face. Inwardly, the idea was worrying. "I'm not gonna go after her. I'll let her do what she wants with whomever she wants." He sighed. "She was never mine, anyway. Forever Gray's girl, remember?" He sardonically laughed, but his sagging shoulders revealed his discontent.

Evergreen gave him a pitying look. "I could probe her, see how she really feels about you. Then we would know for certain."

Laxus snapped his head to look at Evergreen. "No way. I'm not messin' with her just for my pleasure. Besides, we know what the answer would be."

"Judging from the way the two of you were acting tonight, she'd pick  _you_."

Laxus looked surprised, but his doubt overcame him. "Nah. That wouldn't happen."

He stood up and paused at the door, his hand on the door frame.

"Goodnight, Ever."

With that, he walked back to his room and shut the door. Evergreen sighed and shut her room's door. She looked in his direction, and then back at Juvia.

_Two stubborn idiots. You'll realize sooner or later._


	23. Endings

It was raining. Again.

This time though, it was natural. The water in the air just decided to come down on that particular day, but her guildmates were not so sure.

"Juvia, are you upset?"

Evergreen's question woke her up that morning. She had her hands gently rested on Juvia's arm, her nails poking Juvia's skin.

"Wu-" Juvia tried to respond, but yawned.

"It's just that it's raining and when you're upset it rains, so... Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Evergreen. It's just the weather being itself."

Evergreen gave her a skeptical look.

"Really, it is."

Evergreen's eyebrow raised and she sighed. "If you say so. Come on, let's pack up and head downstairs to meet the boys."

The two prepared their luggage and carried their bags down to the lobby where a great crowd had gathered. "What's going on here?"

"Juvia! Evergreen!" Freed yelled. At least, they thought it was Freed. If they did not know his voice, they would have never found him yelling in the crowd, one hand cupped around his mouth with the other waved in the air.

They pushed their way through the crowd, but when people realized who they were, someone yelled "She's here!" and mass chaos erupted.

"Miss Juvia!"

"The mermaid, look!"

"Can I get your autograph?"

Juvia was overwhelmed. It felt like her voice stopped working and her throat was closing up, keeping her from breathing. Her eyes were wide and she could not move.

Laxus's eyes widened when he noticed her reaction. "Everybody quiet!" His voice shook the whole building, being emphasized by a strike of lightning. Suddenly, he realized that everyone in the room was looking at him.

"Uh..."

"Form a line," Freed commanded, using his enchantment magic to set up barriers and a clear procession. "She will see you one at a time, please."

The crowd was easily tamed. Meanwhile, Bickslow walked over to the two girls. "C'mon, we'll set you up a chair this way. Ever, she's in sweatpants. Take her back to the room. Wanna leave on a lasting impression."

"Got it."

Evergreen grabbed Juvia by the arm and brought her to their room. "I made you an extra dress, just in case something like this happened. Here."

She handed the dress to Juvia.

"I'll help you get it on."

It was a white dress that flowed smoothly, with its large sleeves and long skirt. Evergreen put a beautiful gold buckle around her waist to emphasize it and gave her a pair of pretty blue gemstone earrings.

"Looks good!"

"What about a necklace? Doesn't it need one?"

Evergreen had a mischievous look in her eyes. "Don't worry about it. Now, go along down and greet your fans. I will be waiting for you in the crowd whenever you're ready."

Juiva felt a little perplexed by the unusual behavior, but did as she was told. As she approached the last hallway before the lobby, she saw a figure waiting for her. "Hey Juvia."

"Laxus."

"You don't have a necklace."

"Evergreen didn't give me one."

"Because I asked her too."

_What?_

"Close your eyes."

"W-what?!"

Laxus sighed. "Humor me."

Juvia hesitantly closed her eyes and clasped her hands in front of her. She heard his zap of lightning and suddenly felt him breathing heavily behind her. Something cold touched her chest, and her eyes wanted to pop open. "Keep 'em closed," he whispered, his breath tickling her ear and sending shivers down her spine.

His warm hands wiped away some of her hair and she felt them ghost the back of her neck.

"There. You can open your eyes."

Juvia felt the necklace and grabbed it, turning to face him. "When did you get this?"

"After that vendor offered you some cheap necklace. You liked it, so I got you one."

She felt the lightning bolts of gold around the blue gem hanging down.

"For me?" She blushed.

"'Course. Least I could do." His cheeks were red and he looked down, sighing. "I never apologized, did I."

"For what?"

"Everything. But especially the battle of Fairy Tail, attacking you and Gajeel like that... wasn't right of me. And just not being the nakama you needed." He looked her straight in the eyes. "I'm sorry."

Her eyes were wide, but then softened as a small smile graced her face. "I forgive you."

“I don’t deserve that.”

She pursed her lips and gave him a disapproving look. “Well, it doesn’t matter what you think, because I think you deserve it.”

He smiled at that, soft and gentle, a smile that she had never seen before. They stared into each other's eyes and began to draw closer. Both felt the need to finish what was started the night before, if just for one time.

“JUVIA. JUVIA. JUVIA.”

The crowd was chanting from the other room. “Better go greet your fans.” He nudged his head in their direction. Her face drooped at the lost moment. “Yeah.”

Laxus noticed her sad expression and stood by her side, holding elbow out toward her in an offer to take his arm. “M’lady, may I escort you to your awaiting fans?”

She giggled and took his arm with her delicate fingers, the two smiling at each other as if the rest of the world did not matter. “Of course, my gentle man. That would be delightful.”

Together they walked out in front of the chanting crowd that cheered when they came in to view. Their guildmates looked at them with knowing expressions, it being clear to them what was brewing between their two nakama.

 

\----------------

 

It took them a while, but they finally finished with the crowd and arrived at the train station, boarding their train. Once again, their tickets were in separate areas and Juvia was left alone with Laxus beside her, the motion-sick dragon slayer laying his head on her lap and falling asleep to her gentle hands working through his hair.

“No longer in denial, I see.”

Juvia looked up in shock to see that old woman from before hovering above them.

“That’s good.  But neither of you have said anything to the other, which shows some hesitance. I wonder why, though, considering how deeply the two of you have fallen for each other.”

Juvia blushed but denied nothing, instead looking down in sadness. “I am not the kind of woman that he would like.”

“And what on Earthland does that mean?”

“Mirajane. Cana. Lucy. Bubbly and happy and fun, not boring and serious and sad, like me.”

The woman’s expression grew soft.

“And who decided that as fact?”

“It’s obvious, isn’t it! He will never like me and I love him!”

She looked in shock at the woman, embarrassed that her lips had betrayed her thoughts. She sunk low in her seat and her body wilted. “I can never catch a break, can I?”

“I think you’re being too hard on yourself. He obviously cares.”

“And what do you know? Aren’t you that dead woman who saved the village all those years ago?”

The woman’s eyes widened, but then she smirked. “You figured it out. Very good, I knew you could. Yes, I am her. Yes, I am a ghost, which is why no one else sees or hears me. But you and I have a connection of sorts. We are similar people who fell for similar men. That is why I know much about your relationship.”

Juvia thought back to the mayor. “What do you mean, similar men?”

“Believe it or not, my husband was very sombre and uptight as a youth,” she chuckled, “but the bad boy persona was very appealing to me. Both of our men are softer on the inside,” she said, motioning to the necklace that Juvia had been absent-mindedly playing with.

“Water and lightning even join for beauty, yet you cannot come together for love?”

Juvia blushed. “I did not mean to fall for him, it just happened.” She sighed. “I seem to have rotten luck with love.”

“I will be cheering for you, and I have faith in you.”

She looked to Juvia’s hands that were brushing through Laxus’s hair.

“You’ll be fine.”

Juvia looked outside the window and saw the small town fading away. When she turned back, the woman was gone, and Juvia knew that Magnolia was fast approaching.

_The guild. My friends. Gray. I am not looking forward to this…_


	24. ...And Beginnings

Laxus woke up to warmth that was gently moving him and speaking to him.

“Laxus, the train has stopped. We need to get off now.”

He begrudgingly sat up, already missing the feeling of her hands in his hair and being so close to her. They both knew that being back in Magnolia meant that things would go back to normal, with her and the Thunder God Tribe never being around each other. No one wanted that, but no one felt brave enough to change the status quo.

Laxus did feel brave enough to grab her hand. “L-Laxus? What-”

“Don’t want you to get lost in the crowd.”

Both had tinted cheeks as the pair walked together, eventually joining their other three guildmates at the Magnolia train stop. As a whole group, they strolled along together, none wanting the special atmosphere to end, and all dreading a return to normal.

They arrived at the guild in a bittersweet mood. With all the bitter of goodbye to new friendship, there was the happiness of comfortability and home at the guild. At least, they expected the guild to act like normal.

When they entered, all motion stopped and the guild was silent. Juvia strolled toward Natsu and Lucy while the Thunder God Tribe made their way back to their normal spot.

Suddenly, Erza pushed Gray in front of Juvia and he fell to the floor, on his knees with his hands clasped together. “Apologize,” she ordered, her tone leaving no room for debate. Gray sighed and looked at Juvia with pity.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you, I shouldn’t have said all that crap, I just… I’m so sorry.” He looked at her with puppy dog eyes and more genuine emotion than she had ever seen. “Would you please go out with me?”

Juvia was speechless. Here was the man she had loved for years, on his knees, begging her to date him. It was a dream come true. From across the room, Laxus sadly sighed and slowly turned away from the scene. Meanwhile, Juvia still stood silent and shocked, staring at Gray as if he had grown two heads.

“Juvia? What’d ya say?”

_He expects me to say yes. I can see it in his halfway smirk. That cheeky jerk._

She sighed, her shoulders slumping. “I forgive you.”

Laxus abruptly stood up and stormed out of the guild hall, the door slamming shut behind him as everyone stared. Juvia’s eyes were locked on the door he had just marched out of.

Gray stood up and grabbed Juvia’s hand. “So, I’ll pick you up at eight?”

Juvia whipped her head around and gave him a determined glare, a gleam of strength in her eyes. “I said I forgave you, not that I want you.”

The guild gasped, everyone watching the scene with baited breath.

“B-but you-”

“I was deeply hurt by you, and although I forgive you, I have no desire to date someone so cold. I want someone who is warm, someone who is kind and generous, someone who-”

“-you have _electricity_ with? Like a certain blond dragon slayer?!”

Juvia stopped and looked at Gray. Her heart beat wildly in her chest and her breath quickened. She knew what she had to do.

“Yes,” she responded in a cool and collected manner.

The Thunder God Tribe had turned and stared, the guild’s eyes wide at the confession.

“He won’t ever like you!”

She exploded. “I don’t care! What I felt for you was no more than infatuation. Even if he never loves me, I love him and will cheer him on from afar! It doesn’t matter how he feels, he is kind and wonderful and I will always hold him in my heart. Now, Let. Me. Go.”

She ripped her hand from his and he recoiled back as though he had been slapped. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go find _my_ love and explain myself to him.”

She turned around and walked out of the guild, Gray and the rest of the members staring at her, knowing that she truly was a new person. Erza walked up the Gray and slapped him on the head. “Baka.”

Gray just looked in the direction Juvia left, gobsmacked. “She rejected me.”

“Of course she did. Why would she want you after how you treated her? Your cycle of rejection and kindness would not last forever. Surely you knew this.”

Gray glanced at the ground in shame. “I guess not.”

 

\---------------

 

Juvia ran around the town for hours, but had no luck in finding the man she was searching for. “Laxus!” she yelled, cupping her hands around the mouth and screaming for him. Everyone else just stood and stared at her. Thunder boomed, and she looked up just in time to see the rain begin to fall.

_Great, the rain. Just what I wanted…_

Juvia touched her cheeks and realized that she had been crying. “Laxus...” she trailed off, her voice choking as she sobbed in the middle of a street, her hands covering her face.

Lightning cracked and the rain stopped hitting her form. She looked up in surprise to see him standing there, holding his cape above her. Without a word, he threw it on her and picked her up, carrying her all the way to her apartment. By the end of the journey, he was soaked to the bone.

“Go get some rest. It’s been a long week.”

She glanced up at him with sadness. Determination filled her and she gripped his shirt. “Take me back to your place. We need to talk.”

Shock coated his face as he complied. In a flash of lightning, they appeared inside his home. He walked to his room and grabbed a large shirt, throwing it at her. “Get changed into something dry.”

He left her in the bathroom to do so as he changed in his room. His shirt covered her mid-thigh and she sadly removed his wet coat and left it by the fireplace to dry. When he walked out of the room, he saw her standing there in just his shirt and suddenly turned bright red.

"Juv- uh," he cleared his throat. "Juvia, your rain is coming down, so you're upset. What's wrong? And why were you calling for _me_? Come to announce your engagement to Gray?" Bitterness seeped into his voice with that last word, a sneer forming on his face and he turned it to the side.

She looked up at him, her lips quivering in anxiousness. "No."

His face whipped to look at her, a question on his face and confusion in his crunch eyebrows. "Why?"

"Because... I like someone else," she confessed, fiddling with her necklace that he had given her.

"He must be one very lucky man."

She bit her lip. It was time. She looked him straight in the eyes and allowed her impulsive side to act. "Close your eyes."

"What? Why?"

"Do you trust me?"

His eyes softened and then closed as he exhaled. Juvia hesitantly walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Keep them closed," she whispered, her breath tickling his ear. She looked at his face ad gently traced it with one finger, letting it linger on his lips. "I love you."

His eyes snapped open and he stared down at her.

She looked down. "And I know you don't like me back. I'm too gloomy, I know."

"What makes you think I don't like that?" he grunted, gripping her arms with his large hands, his callouses rubbing her skin. "That I don't like gloomy or whatever you are?"

One hand caressed her face and the other tangled itself in her hair. "I like  _you_ , gloomy and whatever else you are. 'Sides, life ain't about waiting for the gloom to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain."

He picked her up bridal style and brought her outside into the rain, and he raised his hand, causing lightning to flash and thunder to roar.

"Wha-"

"M'lday, will you join me for a dance?" His hand was outstretched, ready to grab hers.

Her eyes shined with tears and a smile lit up her face. She took his hand and the two began waltzing, the sun shining on them even as the rain poured and lightning roared, but a rainbow also lit the sky, a faint promise of good things to come.

 

_~fin~_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading, my lovelies! I hope you enjoyed it.


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